Invention
Formica was invented in 1912 by Daniel J. O'Conor and Herbert A. Faber, then working at Westinghouse which filed for a patent on it. They originally conceived it as a substitute for mica used as electrical insulation, made of wrapped woven fabric coated with Bakelite thermosetting resin, then slit lengthwise, flattened, and cured in a press. They left Westinghouse immediately afterwards.
The name Formica now refers primarily to the decorative product composed of several layers of kraft paper impregnated with melamine thermosetting resin and topped with a decorative layer protected by melamine, then compressed and cured with heat to make a hard, durable surface.
Read more about this topic: Formica (plastic)
Famous quotes containing the word invention:
“Books are fatal: they are the curse of the human race. Nine- tenths of existing books are nonsense, and the clever books are the refutation of that nonsense. The greatest misfortune that ever befell man was the invention of printing.”
—Benjamin Disraeli (1804–1881)
“Heredity is a strong factor, even in architecture. Necessity first mothered invention. Now invention has little ones of her own, and they look just like grandma.”
—E.B. (Elwyn Brooks)
“The public values the invention more than the inventor does. The inventor knows there is much more and better where this came from.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)