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Plastics have been touted as a miracle material by some, and criticized as artificial and toxic by others. But, nowadays, it's hard to imagine life without plastics: Cars, textiles, televisions, computers and food containers all have plastic parts. But synthetic plastics are a relatively new invention; production of consumer plastics didn't really take off until after World War II.
![[Interactive:Timeline]](http://media.npr.org/assets/news/science/plastics/timeline/celluloid.jpg)
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The History Of Plastic: From Billiards To Bib
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