People experimented with plastics based on natural polymers for a very long time. Alexander Parkes, an English inventor (1813-1890), created an early form of plastic in 1855. It was hard but flexible and transparent. He called it "Parkesine" but now it is called "Celluloid."
p iː p ə l WORD_BOUNDARY ɛ k s p ɛ ɹ ɪ m ə n t ɪ d WORD_BOUNDARY w ɪ ð WORD_BOUNDARY p l æ s t ɪ k s WORD_BOUNDARY b eɪ s t WORD_BOUNDARY ɔ n WORD_BOUNDARY n æ t̠ʃ ə ɹ ɹ ə l WORD_BOUNDARY p ɑ l ɪ m ə ɹ z WORD_BOUNDARY f ə ɹ ɹ ə WORD_BOUNDARY v ɛ ɹ i WORD_BOUNDARY l ɔ ŋ WORD_BOUNDARY t aɪ m WORD_BOUNDARY æ l ɪ ɡ z æ n d ə ɹ WORD_BOUNDARY p ɑ ɹ k s WORD_BOUNDARY ʌ n WORD_BOUNDARY ɪ ŋ ɡ l ɪ ʃ WORD_BOUNDARY ɪ n v ɛ n t ə ɹ WORD_BOUNDARY w ʌ n WORD_BOUNDARY θ aʊ z ə n d WORD_BOUNDARY eɪ t h ʌ n d ɹ ɪ d WORD_BOUNDARY θ ɜː t iː n WORD_BOUNDARY d æ ʃ WORD_BOUNDARY w ʌ n WORD_BOUNDARY θ aʊ z ə n d WORD_BOUNDARY eɪ t h ʌ n d ɹ ɪ d WORD_BOUNDARY n aɪ n t i WORD_BOUNDARY k ɹ iː eɪ t ɪ d WORD_BOUNDARY ʌ n WORD_BOUNDARY ɜː l i WORD_BOUNDARY f ɔ ɹ m WORD_BOUNDARY ʌ v WORD_BOUNDARY p l æ s t ɪ k WORD_BOUNDARY ɪ n WORD_BOUNDARY w ʌ n WORD_BOUNDARY θ aʊ z ə n d WORD_BOUNDARY eɪ t h ʌ n d ɹ ɪ d WORD_BOUNDARY f ɪ f t i WORD_BOUNDARY f aɪ v WORD_BOUNDARY ɪ t WORD_BOUNDARY w ʌ z WORD_BOUNDARY h ɑ ɹ d WORD_BOUNDARY b ʌ t WORD_BOUNDARY f l ɛ k s ɪ b ə l WORD_BOUNDARY æ n d WORD_BOUNDARY t ɹ æ n s p æ ɹ ə n t WORD_BOUNDARY h iː WORD_BOUNDARY k ɔ l d WORD_BOUNDARY ɪ t WORD_BOUNDARY p ɑ ɹ k ɪ s aɪ n WORD_BOUNDARY b ʌ t WORD_BOUNDARY n aʊ WORD_BOUNDARY ɪ t WORD_BOUNDARY ɪ z WORD_BOUNDARY k ɔ l d WORD_BOUNDARY s ɛ l j uː l ɔɪ d WORD_BOUNDARY