It may be hard to believe for the average 21st century citizen living in an environment saturated with synthetically derived chemical products -- including pesticides, plastics and pretty much portable anything -- but a mere 200 years ago there weren't any! It wasn't until the early 19th century that scientists really got a handle on exactly how chemical structures could be "engineered" and then mass produced.

The first chemical to be synthesized was a minuscule little molecule called "urea" and, as teeny as it was, the little structure was stupendously significant. It marked a milestone in human achievement; for the first time a chemical only found in the human body, and one with active biological properties, was man-made in a laboratory, developed de novo from a distinct "parent" chemical structure.

That was in 1828. From those humble beginnings, by the middle of the century, millions of chemicals were being produced around the world. It wasn't long before chemists started to turn their attention to substances that could be used to manipulate human metabolism and, come the end of the 1800s, the first manufactured synthetic drugs were being marketed. The race was on to discover more and more ways to make more and more biologically active chemicals.

In 1912, the European drug company Merck, whose American subsidiary had only opened 20 years prior, filed for a patent for a drug called "methylsafrylamin" that was to be used to control bleeding. The patent was granted in 1914 and, although there were periodic attempts to develop the drug as a blood clotting agent, that was pretty much the last anyone ever heard of "methylsafrylamin" until the late 1950s, an exciting and propitious period for pill producers. The promise of miracle drugs elicited great admiration from the medical community. With the culture in awe as well, and the drug industry had matured to become a multibillion dollar business.