I’ll admit it. I have a weakness for old dangerous science toys. This video shows a demonstration using Creeple People, a toy from the 1960s that turns a liquid PVC plastisol called Plastigoop into fun little monsters. And the chemistry involved is fundamentally the same used today to screen print tshirt logos and make soft fishing lures. Plastigoop contains two important ingredients: polyvinyl chloride which give the toys structure, and plasticizers which make the toys stretchy and elastic. As the mixture is heated, the PVC particles soften and absorb the surrounding plasticizer molecules. Then polymer fusion occurs, where the PVC particles soften and fuse together, trapping the plasticizer molecules inside. The only catch? To make the chemistry work, the metal molds have to get incredibly hot. #chemistry #chemteacherphil #stem #stemeducation