[SunkenCiv]

Thanks Red Badger.

[snip] Flexible glass is supposedly a lost invention from the time of the reign of the Roman Emperor Tiberius Caesar. According to popular historical accounts by Roman authors Gaius Plinius Secundus and Petronius, the inventor brought a drinking bowl made of the material before the Emperor. When the bowl was put to the test to break it, it only dented instead of shattering.

After the inventor swore he was the only person who knew how to produce the material, Tiberius had the man executed, fearing that the glass would devalue gold and silver because it might be more valuable.

“When I think about the story of Tiberius, I’m glad that our material innovation leads to publication rather than execution,” says Ehrlicher. [/snip]

[Red Badger]

What that poor Roman inventor probably invented was ‘plastic’..................

[Red Badger]

What that poor Roman inventor probably invented was ‘plastic’..................