Easy like Sunday morning

The Hindu Sunday quiz on ‘Thermoplastics’ by Berty Ashley

1 On January 14 in 1873, John Wesley Hyatt trademarked the name ‘celluloid’ for his invention. He had been experimenting with cellulose nitrate in order to make billiard balls, usually made from a natural item containing dentine. Celluloid was a perfect substitute for this item — it not only imitated the look and feel of it, but was also easy to produce. Commercially sold as ‘ivarine’ or ‘ivaleur’, what now illegal item did celluloid replace?

2 In 1889, it was discovered that flexible celluloid plates could be coated with a photosensitive gelatin emulsion. The earliest version of this was used by Thomas Edison on something called a kinetograph. The flexible nature of these plates led to them being used for a revolutionary new technology that changed the world. What technology was this?

3 Being robust and easy to mould, celluloid was widely used to make precision instruments. One company that used it extensively was A.W. Faber, renowned for its hand-operated mechanical calculators used to evaluate mathematical operations. One of the simplest analogue computers, this mechanical calculator is made of three parts: a frame, a central slide and a runner. What is this device called, which one might mistake for a standard ruler?

4 In woodworking, veneer refers to thin slices of wood used for decorative purposes. Seth Thomas clocks were the first to replace wood with celluloid, which was made to look like marble or granite. They called this ‘adamantine’, a reference to a mythological Greek substance that is unbreakable. In modern mythology, a certain ‘unbreakable’ character has claws of ‘Adamantium’. What Marvel character is this, named after a fierce animal?

5 Celluloid continues to be used in musical instruments. It enhances acoustic performance as it does not block the pores of wooden instruments. In guitars, both the pick and pickguard (which prevents the guitar from getting scratches) are made from it. Another instrument that gets its characteristic look from celluloid is a bellows-driven free-reed instrument. What instrument is this, that is frequently associated with European folk music?

6 Celluloid, useful as it was, had a tendency to catch fire. Belgian chemist Leo Baekeland developed another thermoplastic in 1909. Due to its heat-resistant properties, it became a commercial success, especially in kitchenware. By what name was this new product known?

7 During World War I, thermoplastics such as Bakelite started being used widely, especially to make parts for aircraft. The ease and speed of moulding Bakelite, along with the inexpensive production process, played a major role in making a certain technology a common household item. Before that, this item was only used in military or government establishments. What item is this, whose default colour palette is pale yellow or green, and which would have been used in households many years ago?