14 DAY TRIAL // These days, football is by far the most popular sport in the US. The thing is that, without the aid of science, it probably wouldn't have come quite as far.
Entertainment aside, the fact of the matter is football is not exactly the safest sport out there. Not by a long shot. Quite the contrary, players risk serious injuries whenever they go out on the field. Luckily, they have special equipment to keep them safe.
Back in the 1900s, football players would often suffer severe head trauma. Sometimes, their injuries killed them. Skull fractures and bleeding in the brain were common occurrences.
Then, they started wearing helmets. The first football helmets were made of leather on the outside and cloth on the inside. They helped, but death from head injuries was still a risk.
Hard-shell football helmets were introduced in the 1960s. Tough on the inside and coated with foam padding on the inside, they proved way more successful than their leather predecessors.
Football helmets are designed to reduce the force of blows to the skull and, in doing so, protect the brain. The hard shell keeps the skull from receiving any direct hits, which reduces the risk of potentially problematic fractures.
The shell of modern helmets is made of polycarbonate blends similar to what is used to make bulletproof glass. Hence, helmets can absorb tremendous force.
The foam padding on the inside, on the other hand, serves to distribute the force of impact. Basically, the foam padding is there to cushion the blow and make sure the brain doesn't experience any powerful shocks.
