Dimitri Burkhard
The year is 1922. Hermann Staudinger, a chemistry professor in Zürich, makes an impactful discovery related to the makeup of plastic polymers. Thereby and without knowing, he lays the foundation for all the pink flamingoes and garden gnomes of the world!
It was only in 1953 that scientists acknowledged his groundbreaking research by awarding him the Nobel Prize in Chemistry.
So, on behalf of Switzerland, I would like to apologize for having introduced the light and flexible material which is commonly referred to as plastic! Think about it: There would be no Tupperware (and no Tupperware parties), no Little Tikes Cozy Coupes, and no kitschy plastic souvenirs on top of Jungfrau!
No inflatable boats, rubber duck collections, or Barbie dolls. By definition, there would be no plastic surgery, either. As you can see, the world would be much better off without this Swiss invention...
(Photo courtesy of dacduster)
Check out the trailer for "Plastic Planet", an eye-opening documentary about the subjet matter.
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