The Belgian chemist Leo Baekeland was experimenting in his home laboratory in Yonkers, New York, in search of a replacement for shellac — then made from an insect’s secretions and difficult to come by. Instead, he stumbled across a mixture that formed the world’s first synthetic plastic. His invention (named Bakelite) quickly became an indispensable part of electronics, mass-produced household items, and affordable jewelry for the women of the Jazz Age.
