4 ms·

Perhaps wheels on a suitcase required modern plastics?

• DocTomoe 7y ago
  ... because wheels necessitate plastic.
  • deleted 7y ago
    [deleted]
• Merrill 7y ago
  I think that the first wheeled suitcases used indoor roller skate wheels. So the parts were readily available for a long time before wheeled suitcases. But early airports didn't have miles of corridors and a hundred gates, so maybe the need wasn't as great.
• danesparza 7y ago
  We had wheels on cars, baby strollers, and bikes before the moon landing. The cold war re-prioritized life for many Americans (and Russians, too I'm sure)