The substance he abused: Bakelite, a phenolic resin invented in 1909 and often used as an electrical insulator.

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The plotters would hear information through their headphones and instantly start placing Bakelite arrows on the map, adding to it at a rate of about one a second.

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It's not well-known or even thought about but ever since Leo Hendricks unveiled the first fully synthetic moldable hard plastic called Bakelite to the American Chemical Society in 1909, except for a very small percentage that has been incinerated, every single molecule of plastic ever manufactured still exists somewhere in our environment.

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