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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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