So, dear Byters, did we all enjoy Christmas lunch? And when it was finished, were the leftovers tucked away in the fridge under Glad Wrap? Wonderful stuff, cling wrap, although a bit of a bastard to put on and take off, especially from a rolled up newspaper.
Before cling wrap there was cellophane, still hugely in use today. It was invented in 1912 by one Jacques E Brandenberger who in 1900 saw red wine spilled on a tablecloth and wanted to come up with a material that repelled such spills, instead of absorbing them. Eventually he got the consistencies and attributes right and named his invention cellophane, from the words cellulose and diaphane ("transparent").
Originally manufactured in France, a manufacturing company was established in the US in 1924. The chemical company Du Pont then spent 3 years on coming up with a means of making the cellophane fully water proof. Whilst the product had been able to hold water, it was nonetheless permeable to water vapour. By 1927 Du Pont succeeded in making the product moisture proof. By 1938, cellophane accounted for 10% of Du Pont's sales and 25% of its profits.
