What was the importance of Bakelite as a trendsetter?
The substance, originally intended as a shellac substitute, turned out to be an astonnishing multi-purpose talent. It was superior to other substances in many regards and employable in varied fields so that BAEKELAND hit on the marketing slogan “The Material of a Thousand Uses”. Already in the twenties the first entire sythetic plastic was indispensable in most industry branches. – The plastic era had begun. Although it is no longer extensively used as an industrial manufacturing material, in the past Bakelite was used in myriad applications, such as saxophone mouthpieces, cameras, solid-body electric guitars, rotary-dial telephones, early machine guns, and appliance casings. It was at one point considered for the manufacture of coins, due to a shortage of traditional manufacturing material. In 1943, Bakelite and other non-metal materials were tested for usage as a penny in the United States before the Mint settled on zinc coated steel.
