Google Doodle celebrates 250th birthday of Charles Macintosh, inventor of waterproof material

The Doodle shows Charles Macintosh standing in a raincoat and rain droplets bouncing off him.

Thursday’s Google Doodle celebrates the 250th birthday of Scottish chemist Charles Macintosh, inventor of the waterproof material which led to the making of modern raincoat. The doodle shows an illustration of Charles Macintosh standing in a raincoat and rain droplets bouncing off him.

The world remembers him for his most popular invention ‘Macintosh raincoat’ but do you know how did Macintosh invented it? Macintosh while growing up in Glasgow devoted much of his spare time to chemistry. His habit of experimenting with various chemicals, made him realize that  naphtha — a by product of tar — could easily be dissolved in India rubber.

This mixture resulted in formation of a paste which had the ability to repel water. By sandwiching the coating between two pieces of cloth, Macintosh was able to create a fabric that, while the outside could get wet, would protect the wearer from water. In 1823, Macintosh was granted a patent on the waterproof fabric.

Charles Macintosh passed away in 1843 at Dunchattan, Scotland and was buried in the churchyard of Glasgow Cathedral. His name is added to the impressive 17th century monument. Apart from India, the doodle was up in US, Canada and parts of Europe and Africa.