June 27, 1968: Armed guards stood by to prevent anyone from snipping off samples of Qiana, a newly released fabric seen worn by six models, that took more than 20 years and $75 million to develop. The makers of the new fabric, which was previously referred to as Fiber Y, maintained complete secrecy about its chemical composition, as competitors tried to figure out the fiber’s silk-like texture. Photo: William Sauro/The New York Times

Whoa. That is a lot of cheese for a fabric I’ve never heard of before.