Second thought re aluminum: "in 1883 aluminium . . . accounting for inflation, that means aluminium cost $12,000 per pound. Less than 20 years later, aluminium cost 32 cents per pound."
But I bet he didn't adjust the 32 cents for inflation! But aside from that, aluminum went from being so hard to extract that only kings could afford aluminum eating utensils (according to Miss Gill, my 10th grade chemistry teacher) to being cheap, thanks to Charles Martin Hall's process.
