Synthetic rubber
Date invented: 1942
In the early 20th century, rubber was harvested from trees in South America, but soon southern Asia became the dominant producer of the world’s rubber. The global supply of natural rubber was sufficient until World War II, when the Axis powers cut off nearly all of the rubber supply from Asia.
Rubber is an incredibly valuable substance for the military. In addition to tires, the U.S. military needed rubber for airplanes, tanks, vehicles and battleships. In desperate need of the substance, the U.S. government turned to companies like Firestone, Goodyear and Standard Oil to create a replacement. They quickly whipped up a synthetic rubber recipe, which is still used to this day.
