Bakelite

Bakelite is a dense synthetic polymer (a phenolic resin), made from carbolic acid (phenol) and formaldehyde. The first industrial thermoset plastic was invented and patented by Leo Hendrik Baekeland in 1907. The Nobel Prize winning German chemist Adolf von Baeyer had experimented with this material in 1872, but did not complete its development or see its potential.
Bakelite replaced the very flammable celluloid plastic that had been so popular. It is nonflammable, versatile, can be molded, extruded, or carved.

„The Material of a Thousand Uses“ with this slogan „Bakelite-Corporation“ advertised the plastic. An enormous variety of products were made: from the inconspicuous bottle cap and light switch to ashtrays, air conditioners, and toys, to the handles of irons, vacuum cleaners, as well as packaging for perfumery articles an pharmaceutical goods.