Plastic Polish
Parkesine, the initial precursor to modern plastics, was developed by Alexander Parkes who introduced his creation in 1862 at the Great International Exhibition in London. The material was derived from cellulose that was moldable when heated, and retained its shape after cooling. Formaldehyde was used to advance plastics further, which was documented in 1899 when Arthur Smith received British Patent 16,275, the first patent for processing a formaldehyde resin. Leo Hendrik Baekeland improved phenol-formaldehyde reaction techniques in 1907 and created Bakelite, the first fully synthetic resin to become commercially successful.
