The little mistakes that changed the world

March 27, 1933: Just One Word ... Plastics

1933: Two British research chemists miss an important detail ... and make polyethylene.

Reginald Gibson and Eric Fawcett worked at Imperial Chemical Industries' research laboratory at Winnington in County Durham. Their equipment was faulty when they attempted to react ethylene and benzaldehyde under high pressure. They produced a waxy lump of what the British call polythene.