The invention of synthetic plastic in 1869 was revolutionary. Originally meaning “pliable and easily shaped”, the term ‘plastic’ is now the descriptor of polymers, long chains of molecules. Where before humans were constrained by what the natural world had to offer, plastic was touted as inexpensive, accessible, and a way to protect animals like elephants and tortoises from being killed for their ivory and hard shells. In fact, John Wesley Hyatt created the first synthetic polymer in the late 1860s because of the strain billiards was placing on the natural ivory supply.
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