topological soliton

One of the simplest and most commonplace examples of a topological soliton occurs in old-fashioned coiled telephone handset cords, which are usually coiled clockwise. Years of picking up the handset can end up coiling parts of the cord in the opposite counterclockwise direction, and when this happens there will be a distinctive larger loop that separates the two directions of coiling. This odd looking transition loop, which is neither clockwise nor counterclockwise, is an excellent example of a topological soliton.^([Wikipedia])

2010, Wen Xiu Ma, Xing-biao Hu, Qingping Liu (editors), Nonlinear and Modern Mathematical Physics: Proceedings of the First International Workshop, American Institute of Physics, page 205, We review our work on topological solitons in the Faddeev-Skyrme model.