Since the civilization, population and living standards of the peoples of the world have increased in such gigantic proportions, especially in the last fifty years; and since the supply of natural resources cannot meet the demand, we have of necessity had to find new materials to take their place. These new materials must fulfill two purposes; namely, to take the place of the natural resources so wantonly destroyed and to meet requirements that the natural materials are not able to meet. Foremost among these new materials are the synthetic resinous materials known as plastics. Plastics are one way of getting around the fact that Nature has not thought of everything. The ability of man to imagine things that he does not see and to fashion these things from what he finds around him is responsible for what we call progress -- and for plastics.