Silicone is a flexible, rubbery material made from silicon (a common element found in sand and rocks) combined with oxygen and other elements. It feels smooth and slightly slippery, and it can withstand extreme temperatures without melting, burning, or becoming brittle.

You encounter silicone constantly without realizing it. Baking mats that nothing sticks to? Silicone. Flexible phone cases? Silicone. The sealant around bathtubs that keeps water from leaking? Also silicone. It's in spatulas that can stir boiling soup without melting, in swimming goggles that create a watertight seal, and in medical equipment that needs to be safe for the human body.

What makes silicone so useful is its remarkable versatility. It stays flexible in freezing cold and scorching heat. Water can't damage it. It doesn't react with most chemicals. And unlike rubber, which comes from trees, silicone is synthetic, meaning scientists create it in factories where they can control exactly how it behaves.

Don't confuse silicone with silicon, the element used to make computer chips. Silicon is a hard, crystalline element. Silicone is the soft, flexible material that comes from chemically transforming silicon. That extra “e” makes all the difference: you'd never want to bake cookies on a silicon chip, but a silicone baking mat works perfectly.