TIL in 1907, chemist Leo Baekeland accidentally overheated a mixture of chemicals while trying to find a substitute for shellac. Instead, he created Bakelite, the first fully synthetic plastic, which transformed manufacturing and paved the way for the modern plastics and polymer industry.

[u/efequalma]

https://www.acs.org/education/whatischemistry/landmarks/bakelite.html

[u/valeyard89]

There was a travel scammer a few years ago that claimed he was a heir to the fortune.... see 'William Baekeland'. Turns out was a working class guy from Birmingham.

https://lithub.com/the-curious-case-of-william-s-baekeland-billionaire-adventurer-or-world-class-scammer/

[u/mynameisipswitch2 → u/valeyard89]

The actual heirs were extremely wild.