A BRIEF HISTORY OF PLASTIC

1839 German apothecary Eduard Simon isolates polystyrene from natural resin. However, he does not know what to do with it.

1862 Alexander Parkes demonstrates Parkesine at the Great International Exhibition in London. Made from cellulose, it can be moulded into different shapes. But it is not a commercial success.

1865 John Wesley Hyatt develops a way of making a billiard ball from cellulose nitrate in response to a challenge. Till then, billiard balls were made from ivory.

1891 Rayon is developed in France.

1909 A chemist in New York named Leo Baekeland creates the first, all- synthetic plastic called Bakelite for electrical use. It becomes very popular and designer Coco Channel even uses Bakelite to design jewellery.

1920 Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) is invented.

1925 The term ‘plastics’ is coined for all such materials made from long- chain polymers.

1930 Scotch Tape is invented by 3M.

1933 ICI chemists discover polyethylene.

1938 Teflon is created by Roy Plunkett. It would find use in scratchless kitchenware.

1939 Nylon 6.6 is developed by Du Pont.

1948 ABS and Velcro are invented. PVC is now used to make vinyl records.

1949 Tupperware is launched, using low- density polyethylene. Meanwhile, Du Pont uses polyurethane to introduce lycra.

1954 Polystyrene finds use in Styrofoam.