© 2024 All Rights reserved WUSF
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Plastic Turns 100: Bakelite's Birthday

One hundred years ago today, Belgian-American chemist Leo Baekeland applied for a U.S. patent on a substance he dubbed Bakelite, the first "true" synthetic plastic.

Michele Norris talks with Dr. Jeffrey Meikle, a historian of American plastic, about who Leo Baekeland was, and how his invention affected the next century's thinking.

Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

You Count on Us, We Count on You: Donate to WUSF to support free, accessible journalism for yourself and the community.