Volleyball player Cynthia Barboza wearing spandex shorts

Spandex or elastane is a synthetic fiber known for its exceptional elasticity. It is strong, but less durable than its major non-synthetic competitor, natural Latex. It is a polyurethane-polyurea copolymer that was invented in 1959 by chemists C. L. Sandquist and Joseph Shivers at DuPont's Benger Laboratory in Waynesboro, Virginia. When first introduced, it revolutionized many areas of the clothing industry.

The name "spandex" is an anagram of the word "expands".^[1] It is the preferred name in North America; in many European countries it is referred to as "elastane", and is known in Britain mainly as Lycra. Brand names for spandex include Lycra (made by Invista, previously a part of DuPont), Elaspan (also Invista), Creora (Hyosung), ROICA and Dorlastan (Asahi Kasei), Linel (Fillattice), and ESPA (Toyobo).

Spandex fibers production[link]

Spandex fiber

Spandex fibers are produced in four different ways: melt extrusion, reaction spinning, solution dry spinning, and solution wet spinning. All of these methods include the initial step of reacting monomers to produce a prepolymer. Once the prepolymer is formed, it is reacted further in various ways and drawn out to make the fibers. The solution dry spinning method is used to produce over 94.5% of the world's spandex fibers.^[2]

Solution dry spinning[link]

Step 1: The first step is to produce the prepolymer. This is done by mixing a macroglycol with a diisocyanate monomer. The two compounds are mixed in a reaction vessel to produce a prepolymer. A typical ratio of glycol to diisocyanate is 1:2.^[2]

Step 2: The prepolymer is further reacted with an equal amount of diamine. This reaction is known as chain extension reaction. The resulting solution is diluted with a solvent to produce the spinning solution. The solvent helps make the solution thinner and more easily handled, and then it can be pumped into the fibre production cell.

Step 3: The spinning solution is pumped into a cylindrical spinning cell where it is cured and converted into fibres. In this cell, the polymer solution is forced through a metal plate called a spinneret. This causes the solution to be aligned in strands of liquid polymer. As the strands pass through the cell, they are heated in the presence of a nitrogen and solvent gas. This process causes the liquid polymer to react chemically and form solid strands.^[2]

Cyclist wearing a pair of spandex shorts and a cycling jersey

Spandex leggings as casual wear

Wrestlers wearing spandex

A contortionist wearing spandex

Step 4: As the fibres exit the cell, an amount of solid strands are bundled together to produce the desired thickness. Each fibre of spandex is made up of many smaller individual fibres that adhere to one another due to the natural stickiness of their surface.^[2]

Step 5: The resulting fibres are then treated with a finishing agent which can be magnesium stearate or another polymer. This treatment prevents the fibres' sticking together and aids in textile manufacture. The fibres are then transferred through a series of rollers onto a spool.

Step 6: When the spools are filled with fibre, they are put into final packaging and shipped to textile manufacturers.

Major spandex fibre uses[link]

• Apparel and clothing articles where stretch is desired, generally for comfort and fit, such as:
  • athletic, aerobic, and exercise apparel
  • belts
  • bra straps and side panels
  • competitive swimwear
  • dance belts worn by male ballet dancers and others
  • gloves
  • hosiery
  • leggings
  • netball bodysuits
  • orthopaedic brace
  • ski pants
  • skinny jeans
  • slacks
  • miniskirts
  • socks
  • swimsuits/bathing suits
  • underwear
  • wetsuits
  • zentai
• Compression garments such as:
  • cycling shorts
  • foundation garments
  • motion capture suits
  • rowing unisuit
• Shaped garments such as bra cups
  • support hose
  • surgical hose
  • superhero
  • women's volleyball shorts
  • wrestling singlet
• Home furnishings, such as microbead pillows

For clothing, spandex is usually mixed with cotton or polyester, and accounts for a small percentage of the final fabric, which therefore retains most of the look and feel of the other fibers. In North America it is rare in men's clothing, but prevalent in women's. An estimated 80% of clothing sold in the United States contained spandex in 2010.^[3]

See also[link]

• Darlexx
• Glam Metal
• Spandex fetishism
• Textile

References[link]

Notes

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Spandex

• freepatentsonline.com
• pubs.acs.org

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Carmen Electra
Carmen Electra attending the Los Angeles Fitness Expo on January 29, 2011
Born	Tara Leigh Patrick (1972-04-20) April 20, 1972 (age 40) Sharonville, Ohio, U.S.
Occupation	Actress, model, dancer, television personality, singer, entertainer
Years active	1990–present
Spouse	Dennis Rodman (1998–1999) Dave Navarro (2003–2007)
Partner	Rob Patterson (2008-present)

Tara Leigh Patrick (born April 20, 1972), better known by her stage name Carmen Electra,^[1] is an American glamour model, actress, television personality, singer, and dancer. She gained fame for her appearances in Playboy magazine, on the MTV game show Singled Out, on the TV series Baywatch, and dancing with the Pussycat Dolls, and has since had roles in the parody films Scary Movie (as well as the fourth film), Date Movie, Epic Movie, Meet the Spartans, and Disaster Movie.

Early life[link]

Electra was born in Sharonville, Ohio, the daughter of Patricia, a singer, and Harry, a guitarist and entertainer.^[2][3] She attended Ann Weigel Elementary School and then studied dance at Dance Artists dance studio under Gloria J. Simpson, in Western Hills, a neighborhood of Cincinnati. Her mother died of a brain tumor in 1998.^[4] Her older sister Debbie died from a heart attack, also in 1998. Carmen graduated from Princeton High School in Sharonville. She also attended the School for Creative and Performing Arts (SCPA) in the Cincinnati Public School District (CPS).^[5] She has Irish, German, and Cherokee ancestry.^[6]

Career[link]

Electra started her professional career in 1990 as a dancer at Kings Island amusement park in Mason, Ohio in the show "It’s Magic", one of the more popular shows in the park's history.^[7] In 1991, she moved to California and met Prince.^[8] Soon after, Electra signed a recording contract with Prince's Paisley Park Records and began a short-lived singing career.^[8] During her time at Paisley Park Records, she officially became known as Carmen Electra.^[8]

Electra at the 2007 Spike TV Awards

In 1995, Electra started appearing in television programs. In May 1996 she was featured in a nude pictorial in Playboy magazine, the first of several. This exposure led to higher profile television appearances, including Baywatch (cast member from 1997–1998, as Leilani "Lani" McKenzie) and MTV's Singled Out. She returned to Baywatch for the 2003 reunion movie, Baywatch: Hawaiian Wedding.

Electra was featured in Playboy four more times: June 1997, December 2000, April 2003 and the January 2009 anniversary issue. She was on the cover three times: December 2000, April 2003 and on the 55th anniversary Issue in January 2009.

Electra has appeared in films such as American Vampire (1997), Good Burger (1997), The Mating Habits of the Earthbound Human (1999), the horror spoof Scary Movie (2000) and also appeared in Meet the Spartans (2008), Scary Movie 4 (2006), Epic Movie (2007), Date Movie (2006), Disaster Movie (2008), the remake of the 1970s TV show Starsky & Hutch (2004) and Cheaper by the Dozen 2. She won an MTV Movie Award (best kiss) for Starsky & Hutch. She also appeared in an episode of House in which she portrayed herself as an injured golfer and an injured farmer, playing out House's fantasy.

In 1999, she appeared in the Bloodhound Gang's music video of "The Inevitable Return of the Great White Dope." In 2005, she joined the voice cast of the animated series Tripping the Rift, replacing Gina Gershon as the voice of the sexy android "Six". Also in 2005, she began the Naked Women's Wrestling League, acting as the commissioner for the professional wrestling promotion.^[9] In late 2006, Carmen began to be featured in commercials by Taco Bell.

Other work[link]

Electra's video game work includes appearing as characters in Def Jam: Fight for New York and is one of the celebrity challenges in the video game ESPN NFL 2K5.

Electra has produced exercise videos and equipment. Her Carmen Electra Aerobic Striptease is a five-disc DVD series that combines teaching classic stripping moves with a low impact cardio workout, which also starred Jon Eby. She also endorses the Electra Pole, a pole dancing kit released in January 2008.^[10]

In 1997, Electra modeled for the covers of the comic books Razor and the Ladies of London Night by London Night Studios.^[11]

Electra appeared in commercials for Maxim Men's Hair Color products (2004–2005).

In 2006, Electra signed on as the spokesmodel for Ritz Camera Centers, appearing in their television and print ads with CEO David Ritz. She is featured in some video spoofs of Lonelygirl15 that advertised Epic Movie.^[12] That same year she appeared as the face and spokesperson for the MAX Factor Make-Up line (beginning in 2006) in their television and print ads.^[13]

Electra appeared as a guest judge on So You Think You Can Dance Season 8 on July 6, 2011. She appeared along with regular series judges Nigel Lythgoe and Mary Murphy and fellow guest judge Travis Wall.

In 2012 Electra joined Britain's Got Talent as a guest judge for the auditions staged in London, she acted as a replacement for Amanda Holden who was absent due to complications following child birth.

Charity work[link]

Electra at the MTV Music Awards 2005 in Luna Park, Sydney.

Carmen Electra organized a fundraiser for Head to Hollywood,^[14] a non-profit organization which offers support to brain tumor survivors. Other charities which she supports include Elevate Hope,^[15] a charity which supports abused and abandoned children, and the Hollyrod Foundation,^[16] which provides medical, physical, and emotional support to those suffering from debilitating life circumstances, especially Parkinson's Disease.

Personal life[link]

Electra married basketball star Dennis Rodman in November 1998 at Little Chapel of the Flowers in Las Vegas, Nevada.^[17][18] The marriage did not last long, and Electra filed for divorce in April 1999.^[19]

On November 22, 2003, Electra married Dave Navarro, lead guitarist for the rock band Jane's Addiction. The couple documented their courtship and marriage in an MTV reality television show called 'Til Death Do Us Part: Carmen & Dave.^[20] On July 17, 2006, she and Navarro announced their separation, and Electra filed for divorce on August 10, 2006; it was finalized on February 20, 2007.^[21][22]

In April 2008, Electra's representative confirmed that she was engaged to Rob Patterson, a member of the nu metal band Otep and hard rock band Filter.^[23]

Credits[link]

Discography[link]

• Carmen Electra, 1993

Filmography[link]

Videography[link]

• Erotic Confessions (1996) – Manager – 1 episode: "At the tone"
• Baywatch Nights (1996) – Candy – 1 episode: "Epilogue"
• Good Burger (1997) – Roxanne
• All That (1997) – Sue – 1 episode: "Ed gets married"
• Pacific Blue (1997) – Lani McKenzie – 1 episode: "Heartbeat"
• Singled Out (host in 1997)
• Loveline (host in 1997)
• Baywatch (cast member from 1997–1998)
• Just Shoot Me! (1997) – Herself – 1 episode: "King Lear Jet"
• Hyperion Bay (cast member 1998)
• VH1's 100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock (host in 2000)
• Off Centre (guest star as herself in two episodes) (2002)
• Electra's Guy (2002)
• Carmen and Dave: An MTV Love Story (2002)
• The Simpsons – The Frying Game (2002)
• Cleavage (narrator in 2002)
• Livin' Large (2002–2004) (frequent host throughout run)
• BattleBots (host in 2002)
• Dance Fever (2003) (canceled after 6 episodes)
• Baywatch: Hawaiian Wedding (2003)
• 'Til Death Do Us Part: Carmen and Dave (2004) (limited run of 7 episodes)
• Monster Island (2004)
• Summerland as Mona (2004)
• Mr. Monk and the Panic Room (2004)
• Manhunt: The Search for America's Most Gorgeous Male Model (2004–2005)
• Tripping the Rift (cast member in 2005) (voice)
• American Dad! as Lisa Silver (1 episode)
• House M.D. ("Three Stories" (Season 1, Episode 21)) (as herself twice, first being a replacement for Gregory House in the third story then as a farmer from the first story because "If we're gonna look at a leg...")
• Lolo's Cafe (2006) (voice)
• Full Frontal Fashion (2007 guest host)
• Joey (TV series) (guest star as herself in two episodes, one of each season)
• ChartBlast hosts the chartshow on MTVNHD and MTV Italy since 2008
• Perfect Catch host, the reality E! UK TV show 2009

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Carmen Electra

• Official website
• Carmen Electra at the Internet Movie Database
• Carmen Electra at People.com
• "Dirty Dozen: Carmen Electra". Playboy. Archived from the original on March 9, 2009. http://web.archive.org/web/20090309023642/http://www.playboy.co.uk/life-and-style/interview/78820/3/Dirty-Dozen-Carmen-Electra/.