Although polymers may be as old as life itself, we have only known about them since the 1830s when scientists first described them. The first synthetic polymer, known as Bakelite, which was the first plastic, was made in 1907 by an easy and inexpensive reaction. Later, Bakelite helped engineers to manufacture many types of children's toys and kitchenware. But it was not until the 1920s when Herman Staudinger, a German scientist who worked on these synthetic polymers, coined the term macromolecule. Unfortunately, many scientists did not believe him about the existence of macromolecules because, at the time, a lot of chemists were reluctant to admit the existence of "giant organic molecules." Rather, they preferred the idea that many natural substances—such as cellulose, silk, and rubber—consisted of small units held together by exceptionally strong forces. After Staudinger announced the concept of macromolecules, one well-known chemist even said, "you might as well claim that somewhere in Africa one elephant was found who was 1,500 feet long and 300 feet high". Funnily enough, while the elephant did not exist, the polymer did, and the discovery of polymers revolutionized science.

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