Industry Profile: Plastics Plastics Trivia
Plastics Trivia
Plastics are used in many areas of human endeavour; they have even contributed to the development of Canada’s national sport. In 1958, “Mac” Carr Harris read about a newly developed German plastic, high-density polyethylene, and realized that it would be more effective protection than the hardened leather equipment being worn by hockey players at that time. He was right. And while hockey pads have changed a lot in the last 45 years, they are still made with plastic. The sweaters worn by National Hockey League (NHL) players are made of plastic now, too, as are helmets, face masks, parts of the skates, and the “glass” and the “boards” which surround the ice of the NHL rinks.