First Use Of Plastic – Dale’s Daily Data

Plastic is used in so many things – from plastic knives and forks to grocery bags, building materials, car parts, even the bodies of boats and planes.  It’s light.  It’s relatively cheap.  You can form it into any shape.  But of all the things made out of plastic what do you think was the first?

A guy by the name of John Wesley Hyatt was working in his laboratory with some liquids combining cellulose and camphor and when he spilled it he found it hardened into a tough but flexible substance.  It’s what we call celluloid today.  When it was heated under pressure it could be molded into something durable.  In 1868, Hyatt used that process to create a substitute for ivory in making billiard balls.  Yep, of all the things on earth billiard balls was the first thing made of plastic. 

Hyatt also went on to develop celluloid into something that affected a whole lot more people – film for still photography and motion pictures.

SOURCE: Scienceclarified.com