HISTORY OF PLASTIC
Located in the stairwell
The stairwell, 20-feet wide with floating wood planks, frames the engrossing presentation of the history of plastics. The story begins with the discovery of oil in the United States and weaves its way through the first 100 years of scientific and engineering developments, the first key products, and the changes brought by those products to American culture.
Where does it come from?
Where does it go?
How long does it last?
What did we ever do before we had plastic?
This pithy exhibition gives an insightful history of how we got to where we are now.
Edwin Drake
(1819-1880) made the first successful use of a drilling rig on a well. His innovation used piping to prevent borehole collapse allowing the drill to penetrate further into the ground. In Titusville, Pennsylvania, from a depth of 69.5 feet Drake extracted the first rock oil.
Within a day of striking oil, Drakes' methods were imitated by others. Although Drake's pioneering work led to the growth of the oil industry that made so many others wealthy, Drake failed to patent his drilling invention and ended his life in relative poverty.
How Long Does
it Last?
Culture-Changing
Inventions
Thomas Williams
(1896 - 1976) created the Maybelline company when he was 19 years old. Williams noticed his older sister, Mabel, applying a mixture of Vaseline and coal dust to her eyelashes to give them a darker, fuller look.
Working with this combination, Williams developed the first modern eye cosmetic for everyday use. He named his company in honor of his sister who gave him the idea.
Wallace Carothers
(1896-1937), employed at Dupont Chemicals, was in charge of a research team tasked with creating a synthetic fiber to replace silk. In over four thousand years, textiles have seen only four basic developments. Carothers' team was responsible for Nylon–the fourth, it was the first completely new synthetic fiber made by man.
Despite an amazing career that included over fifty patented inventions, Carothers struggled with depression. He was especially close to his sister, and when she died suddenly in 1937, the loss deeply affected him. He committed suicide the same year.
Vaseline
Robert Chesebrough patented the process of making petroleum jelly. He popularized his product through live demonstrations on skin burns and by giving out free samples.
Chesebrough believed strongly in the health benefits of his product. In his mid-50s, during a bout of pleurisy, he reportedly had his nurse rub him from head to foot with the substance. Cheesebrough livd to be 96 years old and claimed to have eaten a spoonful of Vaseline every day for several years.
What is it
Made of?
In the U.S., plastics are manufatured from hydrocarbon gas liquids (HGL) and natural gas. HGL are byproducts of petroleum refining and natural gas processing.
• About 191 million barrels of HGL were used in the U.S. to make plastic products in 2010
• About 412 billion cubic feet of natural gas were used
• In addition, about 65 billion kilowatthours of electricity were used
Source: US Energy Information Administration, US Department of Energy. 2015
Product source: http//www.ranken-energy.com/products
Plastic is Forever
Unlike organic materials, which eventually decompose, plastic never actually decomposes. It merely degrades into smaller and smaller pieces, with each microparticle still being a chemically bonded polymer. Every piece of plastic that was ever created still exists.
Before &
After
What did we ever do before we had plastic?
"What really happens to the plastic you throw away - Emma Bryce."
Ted-Ed. YouTube, 21 Apr 2015.
The animated and highly informative journey of three plastic bottles. Spoiler alert: Bottle 2 goes to an ocean gyre.
4:06min
"Plastics-toFuel: Creating Energy from Non-Recycled Plastics"
AmericanChemistry. YouTube, 21 may 2015.
Animated, straightforward, and comprehensive. Legal barriers to progress must be addressed.
3:07min
"The Life Cycle of a Water BOttle - Infographic"
Chris Balzano. YouTube, 19 May 2012.
A very quick view. Spend a minute on it.
1:06min
"Teaser of the upcoming documentary film "Landfill Harmonic"
LandfillHarmonic. YouTube. 17 Nov 2012.
This unlikely orchestra plays music from instruments made entirely out of garbage.
3:27min