Be as competent as Einstein!
Challenge for today
Hello! I am here :)Ready to start? But before this I need something
No, I am not a new character of the project :)
What exactly do you need?
Milk :)
What..?
Yes, milk itself :) Guess what we will make from it?
Cool idea!
No
No
No
Yes, plastic from milk
No
cheese
mousse
ice cream
plastic
sour cream
Plastic from milk - this, of course, sounds like something invented :)
You might be surprised to learn that in the early 20th century, milk was used to make a variety of plastic jewelry, including jewelry for Queen Mary of England!
Learn history
In fact, from the early 1900s until about 1945, plastic made from milk was quite common. This plastic, known as casein plastic or under the trade names Galalith and Erinoid, was used to make many plastic ornaments: jewellery, gemstones, buttons, decorative buckles, fountain pens, fancy comb and brush sets and even piano keys
Created by German chemist Fredrich Spitteler in 1895, this horn-like plastic material was marketed as Galalith or ‘milk stone’ and first exhibited at the Paris Universal Exhibition in 1900.Versatile, multi-purposeful and biodegradable, Galalith could be created in any colour
Plastics, so commonplace for us today, were at one time considered exotic
By 1926, in France, Coco Chanel’s now classic little black dresses appeared in Vogue, adorned with none other than Galalith costume jewellery. Ideal for easily working and colouring into the intricate Art Nouveau and Art Deco shapes of the day, this milk-bling was now accessible to women of all classes
Coco Chanel Black Dress and Galalith Jewels
Now there will be shock content!
This raincoat is made of milk
In 1935 milk turned into wool by revolutionary new process. The now perfected milk fibre styled Lanital (a compounding of "lana", meaning wool, and "ital", from Italia). Milk fibre was – literally – flavour of the month: "you’ll be able to choose between drinking a glass of milk and wearing one".
Italian Lanital Factory
Unlike real wool Lanital didn’t suffer from attacks by moths, but it did stink when wet – a smell (unsurprisingly) not dissimilar to fermented or sour milk. The fermented milk aroma would ultimately be its downfall
Returning to a reality full of artificial plastice :(
A bit of ecology
Garbage patches in the World Ocean
ARCTIC OCEAN
ATLANTIC OCEAN
INDIAN OCEAN
PACIFIC OCEAN
PACIFIC OCEAN
Let's challenge artificial plastic?
Challenge: make your own plastic from milk
Acceptchallenge!
let's try!
We will need the following materials:
next
Perform the experiment together with an adult!
Heat (until boiling!) one glass of milk
The method
next
next
Add hot milk to heat-resistant bowl for mixing
Add 4 teaspoons of white vinegar to a heat-resistant bowl for mixing
Perform the experiment together with an adult!
next
Slowly stir with a spoon for a few seconds
You should see the milk forming white lumps (clots)
top view
Place several layers of paper towels on a hard surface that is safe to wet
When the mixture of milk and vinegar cools down a little, scoop the curd mass with a spoon. Collect as much cheese mass as possible in this way and place it on a stack of paper towels
next
Mix the cheese mass into a ball of dough
Press the cheese mass with paper towels to absorb any remaining liquid
11
10
next
top view
This is casein plastic
Food coloring, glitter or other decorative pieces can be added to the wet (!) casein plastic
You can make anything out of plastic dough within one hour (!) of making it
13
12
next
Dry for 48 hours! After drying, the casein plastic will become hard
Dried casein plastic can be colored with markers
14
15
next
That's it! You can make, for example, this bracelet from a glass of regular milk :)
How does it work?
How does it work?
When you add hot milk to vinegar, little white bits appear in the mixture. This is because adding an acid, such as vinegar, to the milk changes the pH of the milk and causes the casein molecules to unfold and reorganize into long chains, curdling the milk
Are you running for milk?
Upload a photo or video of own plastic from milk. Share your impressions :)
This can be done here :)
Art Nouveau Galalith, Enamel and Pearl Pendant Necklace, René Lalique. Sold for 110,000 euros at Christie’s
Galalith objects, early 20th century (small pen, shoehorn, brush)
https://www.flickr.com/photos/galessa/2021369474
Milk protein molecules (casein) BEFORE adding vinegar
Milk protein molecules (casein) AFTER adding vinegar
Belt buckles made from Galalith (casein plastic) 1930's and 40's
Galalith (“Milk Stone”) 1920s sample book, milk protein, formaldehyde, and pigments in Galalith
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Вікторія Тарановська
Created on March 5, 2025
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Transcript
Be as competent as Einstein!
Challenge for today
Hello! I am here :)Ready to start? But before this I need something
No, I am not a new character of the project :)
What exactly do you need?
Milk :)
What..?
Yes, milk itself :) Guess what we will make from it?
Cool idea!
No
No
No
Yes, plastic from milk
No
cheese
mousse
ice cream
plastic
sour cream
Plastic from milk - this, of course, sounds like something invented :)
You might be surprised to learn that in the early 20th century, milk was used to make a variety of plastic jewelry, including jewelry for Queen Mary of England!
Learn history
In fact, from the early 1900s until about 1945, plastic made from milk was quite common. This plastic, known as casein plastic or under the trade names Galalith and Erinoid, was used to make many plastic ornaments: jewellery, gemstones, buttons, decorative buckles, fountain pens, fancy comb and brush sets and even piano keys
Created by German chemist Fredrich Spitteler in 1895, this horn-like plastic material was marketed as Galalith or ‘milk stone’ and first exhibited at the Paris Universal Exhibition in 1900.Versatile, multi-purposeful and biodegradable, Galalith could be created in any colour
Plastics, so commonplace for us today, were at one time considered exotic
By 1926, in France, Coco Chanel’s now classic little black dresses appeared in Vogue, adorned with none other than Galalith costume jewellery. Ideal for easily working and colouring into the intricate Art Nouveau and Art Deco shapes of the day, this milk-bling was now accessible to women of all classes
Coco Chanel Black Dress and Galalith Jewels
Now there will be shock content!
This raincoat is made of milk
In 1935 milk turned into wool by revolutionary new process. The now perfected milk fibre styled Lanital (a compounding of "lana", meaning wool, and "ital", from Italia). Milk fibre was – literally – flavour of the month: "you’ll be able to choose between drinking a glass of milk and wearing one".
Italian Lanital Factory
Unlike real wool Lanital didn’t suffer from attacks by moths, but it did stink when wet – a smell (unsurprisingly) not dissimilar to fermented or sour milk. The fermented milk aroma would ultimately be its downfall
Returning to a reality full of artificial plastice :(
A bit of ecology
Garbage patches in the World Ocean
ARCTIC OCEAN
ATLANTIC OCEAN
INDIAN OCEAN
PACIFIC OCEAN
PACIFIC OCEAN
Let's challenge artificial plastic?
Challenge: make your own plastic from milk
Acceptchallenge!
let's try!
We will need the following materials:
next
Perform the experiment together with an adult!
Heat (until boiling!) one glass of milk
The method
next
next
Add hot milk to heat-resistant bowl for mixing
Add 4 teaspoons of white vinegar to a heat-resistant bowl for mixing
Perform the experiment together with an adult!
next
Slowly stir with a spoon for a few seconds
You should see the milk forming white lumps (clots)
top view
Place several layers of paper towels on a hard surface that is safe to wet
When the mixture of milk and vinegar cools down a little, scoop the curd mass with a spoon. Collect as much cheese mass as possible in this way and place it on a stack of paper towels
next
Mix the cheese mass into a ball of dough
Press the cheese mass with paper towels to absorb any remaining liquid
11
10
next
top view
This is casein plastic
Food coloring, glitter or other decorative pieces can be added to the wet (!) casein plastic
You can make anything out of plastic dough within one hour (!) of making it
13
12
next
Dry for 48 hours! After drying, the casein plastic will become hard
Dried casein plastic can be colored with markers
14
15
next
That's it! You can make, for example, this bracelet from a glass of regular milk :)
How does it work?
How does it work?
When you add hot milk to vinegar, little white bits appear in the mixture. This is because adding an acid, such as vinegar, to the milk changes the pH of the milk and causes the casein molecules to unfold and reorganize into long chains, curdling the milk
Are you running for milk?
Upload a photo or video of own plastic from milk. Share your impressions :)
This can be done here :)
Art Nouveau Galalith, Enamel and Pearl Pendant Necklace, René Lalique. Sold for 110,000 euros at Christie’s
Galalith objects, early 20th century (small pen, shoehorn, brush)
https://www.flickr.com/photos/galessa/2021369474
Milk protein molecules (casein) BEFORE adding vinegar
Milk protein molecules (casein) AFTER adding vinegar
Belt buckles made from Galalith (casein plastic) 1930's and 40's
Galalith (“Milk Stone”) 1920s sample book, milk protein, formaldehyde, and pigments in Galalith