Google Doodle recently featured Charles Macintosh, the man who invented the waterproof raincoat, also known as a mackintosh. Charles Macintosh was born in Glasgow, Scotland, on December 29, 1766. The weather in Glasgow is very punishing. It rains, snows and sleets at an average of 201 days a year.

Macintosh wasn't the first person to find out that liquid rubber is good for waterproofing. Centuries ago, the sap of rubber trees was used in South America to paint clothes. But sap is not ideal for logistics, since it has to be solidified before travel, and rubber in solid form is not that useful. Macintosh instead created a solution of solid rubber and Naptha, a byproduct of coal, and used that solution for fabrics and sticking them together, keeping the solution in between. He had the technique patented in 1823. Though the clothing was waterproof, it didn't smell well, it got sticky during in heat, and stiff when cold.

The people who used those kinds of clothing were soldiers and sailors. They did not mind if it stank, as longs as it kept them dry. Macintosh's business did well for a while to the point where other people were trying to imitate his product.

Years after Macintosh's death, his son got worried that the growing railroad travel meant that people won't be needing raincoats since cars have a roof. The garment "mackintosh" is a classic that stuck around 200 plus years after, with new techniques and design, removing the bad odour.

If you are not familiar, on what a "mackintosh" is, simply put it is, it is a simple coat made out from bonded cotton. It became an icon of British fashion and also became a part of the British Lifestyle. The Mackintosh Company still makes coat in the present but is now know across the globe.