At the turn of the 20th century, Leo Baekeland was only one of many chemists looking for a more cost-effective shellac substitute for insulation in the growing electrical industry. Because bakelite was applicable for so many things, Baekeland marketed it as “the material of a thousand uses”. Eventually, Bakelite and the other early synthetic plastics could be found in
every room of the modern home and in
every aspect of modern life.