The first plastic, was made from milk and what other ingredient ?
I know nothing of its composition, but the first plastic, as I understand it, was called Bakelite, and was used for handles on cooking equipment so they wouldn't burn your hands.
Bakelite, which is a mixture of phenol and formaldehyde. Discovered by accident when someone spilled some phenol and formaldehydein the lab
It got going in the 1950s with high density polyethylene made by Phillips in Pasadena, TX. You may be thinking of rubber which came from plants from Africa.
During World War 1 with the production of mustard gas, a residue would build up within the catalytic chamber. This residue was polyethylene, the first real plastic. It was not commercially manufactured for many more years. The bakelites commonly referred to as the first plastics were actually the first composites. They are not plastics at all, they were named prior to the final definition of plastic being established.
