Hobbies And Interests
Bandages
Ancient Greeks used spider silk as bandages. They would take cobwebs and use them as wraps to staunch bleeding and protect wounds. In addition to the strength and flexibility of spider silk, it is also a useful bandage because spiders coat the silk with antiseptic material. This material not only helps keep wounds protected, but also clean and free from potential infections.
Crosshairs
Scientists in the 19th century using telescopes to study astronomy and other fields needed accurate crosshairs on their telescope equipment, and so they laid spider silk over their lenses. Spider silk is incredibly fine, 30 times smaller than a human hair and only 1/10,000 of an inch wide. This meant that spider silk could be used to form crosshairs without obstructing the view of the scientists. This technique would have later applications during World War II, when fighter planes and bombers would use spider silk for their gunsights and range finders.
Fishing
Spider silk has been used by many cultures for fishing. Aboriginal people of Australia have used strong, fine spider silk strands for fishing line that will not easily break. In the Solomon Islands, villagers use spider silk in multiple ways to help them fish. After collecting spider webs, islanders use the webs as fishing nets. They will also gather the spider silk together to create a lure that traps fish without the use of a hook by tangling them into the spider silk.
Experimental
Scientists anticipate a wide variety of future uses for spider silk. Spider silk can be used as a biodegradable replacement for Kevlar in bulletproof vests, as lightweight water-resistant clothing and even potentially as replacement muscles or ligaments in the human body. Because collecting spider silk from spiders is time consuming and expensive, scientists at places such as the University of Wyoming are experimenting with ways to mass-produce spider silk in other ways. If this is achieved, many of the theoretical uses for spider silk may become much more common.