  History of PVC
Over the centuries, artisans tried everything. Wood pipes, clay pipes, leather, bronze and lead pipes. All proved unreliable and, in the case of lead, lethal. In modern times, plumbers grappled with iron, steel and copper, which lasted longer, but exhausted them with heavy lifting and slow, tedious assembly. Liberation finally came during the warring days of the nineteen century in the form of white plastic called Polyvinyl Chloride.
After World War II, PVC pipes flowed from Germany, its birthplace, to the world. Cheap, light and strong, it quickly yields to the strokes of a hacksaw and eliminates the need to cut threads, wrench fittings and sweat solder. With a swipe of cement, PVC parts bond instantly. Their smooth walls shrug off clogging deposits. And if buried deep in the earth, away from sunlight, PVC may last for thousands of years. Or until archaeologists dig it up.
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Let
us have water, cried the emperors, and dutifully, plumbers gave
them pipes.