Early researchers accidentally discovered PVC on at least two occasions in the 19th century. The first, in 1838, was by the French physicist and chemist Henri Victor Regnault and the second in 1872 by the German Eugen Baumann. On both occasions, the polymer appeared as a white solid inside flasks of the newly discovered vinyl chloride gas that had been left exposed to sunlight. The material was difficult to work with and no one mastered the challenge of commercial applications.