bakelite was patented in 1909 - i understand franklin was before 1907, but the idea of "plastic" as something separate from wood, metal, and glass has been around over a century.

Bakelite also wasn't very good though. Stiff, heavy, brittle.

Modern sheet plastic packaging gives the impression of a soap bubble that we've somehow frozen in time and made solid.

How would you explain plastic to someone who hadn't even seen it? I would say it is like candle wax (which it is), but it melts at a higher temperature and is much stronger when solid.

It seems utilitarian to the person who doesn’t understand the concept of microplastics.

They didn't have plastic back then, it would of been paper or cloth