Goodyear was neither a chemist nor scientist and, like Thomas Edison, used trial-and-error methods. He recognized rubber's valuable properties---elasticity, plasticity, strength, durability, electrical nonconductance, and resistance to water, and he became preoccupied with this elastomer. His vulcanization process, accidentally discovered in 1839 after five years of countless experiments, transformed rubber from a smelly, virtually useless substance that became sticky in summer, hardened and cracked in winter, and was attacked by various solvents into a stable, versatile commercial product with literally hundreds of uses. He devoted the last quarter-century of his life to experimenting with ways to improve, promote, and exhibit it to the great detriment of his own and his family's finances and health.
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