February 5, 1909: First Plastic Invented was called Bakelite!
A Brief History
On February 5, 1909, New Yorker Leo Baekeland presented his invention of Bakelite, the first synthetic plastic, to the American Chemical Society.
...MORE (one more exclamation point!)Digging Deeper
Digging deeper, we find the Belgian-born Baekeland trying to invent a replacement for shellac, a product made by processing lac insects.
Shellac was used for many diverse purposes, such as dye for clothing, make-up and a variety of coatings such as varnish and lacquer paint. Of the several different lac insect species, thousands and thousands were required to harvest enough of the lac resin to produce even a small amount of shellac, making production time consuming and expensive. A cheaper and easier alternative would certainly be profitable.
Meanwhile, while also working on a binder for asbestos, a heat-resistant material used in fireproofing materials and brake linings, Baekeland combined phenol and formaldehyde to produce what he called Bakelite, the first synthetic plastic.
Being moldable and heat resistant, Bakelite found immediate use in electrical fixtures and telephones as well as toys, auto parts and many household objects. Later inventions of other plastic products gave us the incredible array of plastic products we know of today, from toothbrushes and clothing fibers to food preservation and sex toys! Automobiles now contain an enormous percentage of plastic, and some have their entire exterior body made of plastic!
