Hey Presto: A Variety of Uses

The Story of Fossil by Li Siguang

Written and edited by the Li Siguang （J. S. Lee） Memorial Hall

Peking University Press

October 2021

58.00 （CNY）

Li Siguang （J.S. Lee） Memorial Hall is located in Huanggang City， Hubei Province， east of the famous Dongpo Chibi Scenic Area， and at the southern foot of the scenic Longwang Mountain. Mr. Li， a native of Huanggang， Hubei Province， was a distinguished Chinese scientist， a famous social activist， an outstanding educator， a pioneer of modern Chinese geology， one of the founders of geology research in new China and a world-renowned scientist.

Other than the uses mentioned above， fossil fuels can be “transformed” into a number of everyday products， of which plastic is the most important. Almost all of the plastic products we come into contact with come from fossil fuels！ I wonder if you have noticed this： the plastic wraps that come into direct contact with food and food bags are mostly made of “polyethylene.” The heat-resistant plastic basins and plastic microwave containers are mostly made of “polypropylene，” while most of the hard-plastic windows， doors， and pipes are made of “polyvinyl chloride.” Most of the materials starting with “poly-” are petrochemical products.

In the mid-19th century， large-scale commercial oil exploration began in the United States. A chemist named Robert accidentally cut his finger while surveying an oil well， and oil workers rushed to wipe a little grease on his wound. The grease could relieve pain and help heal the wound. Robert was amazed， so he took some back for research. Decades later， he successfully invented a method to refine this grease and also applied for a patent. This is the inexpensive Vaseline， a raw material used in many cosmetics.

Fossil fuels are also a raw material used in perfumes. Perfume is very aromatic， mainly because it contains a unique substance—“indole.” Indole is widely found in nature， such as in jasmine and daffodil flowers， which contain traces of indole. However， the cost of making perfume from natural flowers was too high to be affordable for the common people. Later， chemists invented a method to extract indole from fossil fuels， and perfumes began to enter the households of millions.