Plastics

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Description

Plastic has become ubiquitous - impressive, since we'd been living without it for centuries! Can you imagine that plastic was invented accidentally - for the purpose of making billiard balls? This program investigates the history of plastic: from the first plastic - discovered when someone witnessed how Southeast Asian farmers used the poop of a little beetle, called shellac, to preserve wood - to Dupont's development of nylon, the first synthetic material to replace silk. But plastic is made with oil and is hard to break down. See how a U.S.-based company is creating a bioplastic grown inside microorganisms. Plastic grown in the field? Now that is quirky!