Here are five things you never knew about wetsuits. Wetsuits are often worn by those in water sports. Such as: Divers, surfers, windsurfers, canoeists, and fishermen. A synthetic rubber often used in making wetsuits is called neoprene, which is also used to make many other products, ranging  from masks to automotive seat covers.

1. Hugh Bradner was an American physicist at the University of California. He was credited with inventing the neoprene wetsuit, which helped to revolutionize scuba diving. He was also one of the scientists working on the Manhattan Project, which helped to develop the first atomic bomb. Bradner was not so interested in profiting from the wetsuit design.

2. Jack O’Neill is the one who many say invented the wetsuit and started using neoprene successfully. In 1952 Jack opened the first surf shop on the Great Highway in San Francisco. His company is called O’Neill.

3. In 2006 the world’s first heated wetsuit was introduced by Ripcurl. It is called the H-Bomb.

4. Neoprene, also known as polychloroprene, was invented by DuPont scientists on April 17, 1930. Neoprene comes from a family of synthetic rubbers that are produced by polymerization of chloroprene.

5. In 1953 the Meistrell brothers started a company called Body Glove. Bill and Bob Meistrell were among the first to invent the first practical wetsuit.