The Museum of Design in Plastics is out to put the Internet to work as amateur detectives.
As our colleagues at PRW noted earlier this week, the museum housed at Arts University Bournemouth, in Bournemouth, England, has been collecting an archive of plastic products — both iconic items with a well-known history and everyday items whose origins are harder to identify, such as a urethane, compression molded tea tray from the 1950s.
So the museum has created a “10 Most Wanted” list online seeking input from anyone who may know more about a rotating list of items.
So if you know something about that first pair of plastic skis with a wooden core or a 1930s salt and pepper shaker set, swing by and add your knowledge.
And even if you don't know much about the specifics or have no travel plans that include Bournemouth at the moment, the museum — which is intended to “increase understanding and appreciation of the use and significance of plastics in design during the 20th and 21st century” — has an extensive catalog of its collection online that is worth checking out if you have time.
(Caution: The website may prove addicting. Be sure you have some time to spend once you log on.)