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The
Pre-Plastic Era - Not So Long Ago
The next time you watch an old
B&W movie, notice the absence of plastic items. Metal, wood, fabric and glass
were the materials of the era. It wasn't until after WWII, in "The Synthetic 50s,"
that plastics began assuming what would become a ubiquitous presence in everyday
life. The first man-made plastic -- called Parkesine -- was created by Alexander
Parkes who first publicly demonstrated it at the 1862 Great International Exhibition
in London. Cellophane was invented 1908, PVC was patented in 1913, Teflon in 1938
(kept secret by the military until the early 60s), nylon in 1939, and Styrofoam®
in 1954.
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