/oss/taxonomy/term/4690/all en /oss/article/history/bugs-plastics <p>During the first years of the twentieth century, the demand for shellac outstripped the supply. It wasn’t because people developed a sudden penchant for shiny furniture. Electricity was starting to take the world by storm and electrification required the use of insulating materials and shellac was a very effective insulator! The problem was that it was hard to come by. Shellac is the resinous secretion deposited on some species of Asian trees by Laccifer lacca beetles. Workers scrape off the resin, heat it, and filter it to produce the commercial product.</p> Fri, 20 Aug 2021 20:38:31 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 8813 at /oss /oss/article/health-general-science/biting-dental-fillings <p>The common word in French for dental fillings is “plombage”, which may sound a little surprising since it roughly translates to “to fill with lead”. That is because if you had a cavity in France in the 18th century, a dentist would have filled it with that metal. Lead melts easily and the molten lead was poured into the cavity. Hopefully, the dentist had steady hands! Luckily, given that lead is highly toxic, dental fillings today do not contain it.  </p> Fri, 24 Jul 2020 16:00:00 +0000 Caitlin Bard, OSS Intern 8335 at /oss