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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. Jeffery Meikle, a historian of American plastic, about how Baekeland's invention affected the world's thinking.

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Plastic Turns 100: Bakelite's Birthday

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Plastic Turns 100: Bakelite's Birthday

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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.

American Plastic
By Jeffrey L. Meikle

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American Plastic
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Jeffrey L. Meikle

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