That a person could live in the modern world without synthetic substances is probably possible, but whoever tried to do it would soon miss many common things. (46) Just imagine how many varieties of plastics there are. They can be harder than wood or .softer than rubber. They can even be made resistant to fire, water and electricity. Whoever visits the world's market places will find that plastics are being made and used everywhere. Plastic articles can be produced at a rather low cost. The machines for molding them are not large or heavy. Most of the products can be stored and transported easily. (47). As a matter of fact, many kinds of materials for clothing have plastics in them. They are made of plastic fibres and are known by special names such as nylon or dacron. Clothing made of plastic fibres has certain advantages over that of natural fibres like cotton, wool, or silk. (48). (49) The earliest variety of plastics was called 'celluloid'. It appeared on market over a hundred years ago. In 1912, an American scientist presented to the world a hard plastic material known as 'bakelite'. The 1940's saw a faster development of plastics. An even larger variety of plastic materials came into practical use. Now plastics find wide application not only in our daily life, but also in engineering. The Germans have manufactured a car which is almost completely made of plastics. The famous British engine builders have produced an aeroplane engine made mostly of plastics. It is really true that plastics are for everyone. And the fact that the total volume of plastics in use is on the increase suggests that more and better plastics will be made in the near future.(50).