Olympic Skiers Wear Polykev

[Bob Schroeck]

"A futuristic flexible material that instantly hardens into armour upon impact will protect US and Canadian skiers"

-- Bob
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For Jor-El so loved the Earth, he sent his only begotten son...

[DHBirr]

There's a substance called shear thickening fluid the Army is experimenting with -- this might be the same thing, or a close relative. Quote from an Army newsletter:
"Unofficially referred to by some as liquid body armor, STF is made of equal parts polyethylene glycol -- an inert, non-toxic thickening agent -- and miniscule glass particles.
"...When sudden, rapid, or forceful motion is applied, the liquid instantly hardens, preventing any movement.
"When STF is applied to regular Kevlar material, the fabric's texture doesn't change; it looks and feels the same as if it hadn't been treated. In a test with a swatch of four layers of untreated Kevlar -- the normal thickness of body armor -- an 'attacker' was able to stab a blade through the fabric. But when he used all the force he could muster to stab a section of fabric treated with STF, the fabric couldn't be penetrated.
"...Soldiers may start getting gear treated with it in about two years. (From Army News Service.)"
This article is somewhere between six months and a year old.
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Big Brother is watching you.  And damn, you are so bloody BORING.

[Logan Darklighter]

This sounds like it's applying a well-known property of certain liquids to act like solids when sharp impacts are applied.
In the British comedy/science show BRAINIAC, one of the hosts proved that you can walk on top of custard (poured into a swimming pool) as long as you keep moving. The impact of your feet "solidified" the custard and allowed you to stay on top. Whereas if you stop moving and stand in one place, all of a sudden, you start to sink.
-Logan
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You know Arthur, when you spend two months living on a really big man, you learn a few things about yourself. You learn how nice it is to stay on Earth, and live someplace with no arms or legs of its own. And you learn how important it is to close your eyes and say "This just isn't happening to me."
-The Tick
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