Portuguese Soul: rubber

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Nowadays we have two types of rubber. Natural rubber, from the rubber tree, and the so called synthetic rubber. Natural rubber is extracted from a tree.

The bark is sliced to extract a white viscous liquid called latex, that’s used to make natural rubber.
Synthetic rubber appears after World War II, because there was a huge demand for products that needed the qualities of rubber.

Rubber is a malleable material and scientists were trying to find a synthetic petroleum-based alternative to natural rubber.