Plastic Bottle

Hello there. My name is Plastic. I am a super special material. Before I was born, things were made of wood and metal. It was hard to make fun shapes for toys and tools. But then I came along. I started as a warm, gooey mix, like sticky honey. I waited and waited in a warm bowl for someone to give me a very special job to do. I was so excited to see what I would become and how I could help people all over the world. I knew I could be strong and useful and fun all at the same time.

My best friend was a kind man named Leo Baekeland. He was my creator. One day, a long, long time ago in 1907, Leo was in his laboratory. It was a place with lots of bottles and tubes filled with colorful liquids. He wanted to make something brand new and amazing. He mixed things from his bottles together, and then he stirred them. Then he heated everything up until it was warm and bubbly. And poof. Suddenly, I was born. I was not like wood, and I was not like metal. I was brand new. I could be hard and shiny. I could be any color in the rainbow. Leo was so happy. He saw that I could be molded into any shape he could dream of. I was ready to become so many wonderful things.

I got so many fun jobs right away. I became colorful toys for children to play with. Zoom. Vroom. I became shiny buttons that went pop, pop, pop on warm coats. I became smooth handles for tools that helped people build houses and chairs. I even helped make radios so everyone could dance to music and listen to happy stories. I love helping. Today, I am still here. I help people build amazing things, play fun games, and create wonderful new inventions. I am so happy I get to help everyone every single day.