The invention of cellophane
In 1908, Swiss textile engineer Jacques E. Branderberger dined in a restaurant when he carefully observed a stain of red wine on his table cloth. Then he came up with the idea of creating a fabric that would be waterproof.
He thought of a coating to protect the tablecloths, so his first experiments were with a liquid derived from cellulose known as viscose, with which he lined the cloth; but the combination of the two turned out to be too rigid and brittle.
After many attempts he gave up, and when he separated the thin layer of transparent viscose he discovered that it was easily detached from the tablecloth. After observing the properties of this material and thinking about it for a few moments, he abandoned his original idea; after all, tablecloths had been made to get dirty, and decided to market his invention.
It should be noted that cellophane results from the treatment of viscose and has important properties: it is waterproof and does not adhere to grease and bacteria, so it is commonly used to wrap food. It has the appearance of a thin, transparent film, is flexible and resistant to tensile stress, but is easily cut.
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