# what type of plastic is a fishing bobber made of **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 20, 2013, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-type-of-plastic-is-a-fishing-bobber-made-of/653451 "2013-03-20T15:12:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![blood63](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/97f17d/32.png) [@blood63](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blood63)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2013, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-type-of-plastic-is-a-fishing-bobber-made-of/653451/1 "2013-03-20T15:12:38Z")
Quick question. What type of plastic is used to make a standard fishing bobber? My guess is polystyrene. Does anyone know for sure? ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2013, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-type-of-plastic-is-a-fishing-bobber-made-of/653451/2 "2013-03-20T15:26:01Z")
The classic bobbers seem to be made of polystyrene. You can verify that with some acetone which will readily dissolve polystyrene. ---
**Author:** ![blood63](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/97f17d/32.png) [@blood63](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blood63)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2013, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-type-of-plastic-is-a-fishing-bobber-made-of/653451/3 "2013-03-20T15:38:47Z")
thanks ---
**Author:** ![Michael63129](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3da27b/32.png) [@Michael63129](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Michael63129)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2013, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-type-of-plastic-is-a-fishing-bobber-made-of/653451/4 "2013-03-20T17:16:18Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > The classic bobbers seem to be made of polystyrene. You can verify that with some acetone which will readily dissolve polystyrene. Acetone dissolves many other plastics though, such as ABS, polycarbonate, acrylic, and PVC ([chemical resistance chart](http://www.plasticsintl.com/plastics_chemical_resistence_chart.html)); even superglue can be dissolved with acetone, so this isn’t a reliable test for the type of plastic used. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2013, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-type-of-plastic-is-a-fishing-bobber-made-of/653451/5 "2013-03-20T17:20:36Z")
> [@Michael63129](#): > > Acetone dissolves many other plastics though, such as ABS, polycarbonate, acrylic, and PVC ([chemical resistance chart](http://www.plasticsintl.com/plastics_chemical_resistence_chart.html)); even superglue can be dissolved with acetone, so this isn’t a reliable test for the type of plastic used. True, but it’s very effective on polystyrene, like pouring hot water on ice. And the properties of a fishing bobber are clearly different than ABS, polycarb, acrylic or PVC. ---
**Author:** ![Sicks\_Ate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Sicks\_Ate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sicks_Ate)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2013, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-type-of-plastic-is-a-fishing-bobber-made-of/653451/6 "2013-03-20T17:21:49Z")
What is in plastic fishing lures that melts the plastic fishing bobbers? ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2013, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-type-of-plastic-is-a-fishing-bobber-made-of/653451/7 "2013-03-20T17:22:40Z")
> [@Sicks\_Ate](#): > > What is in plastic fishing lures that melts the plastic fishing bobbers? Plasticizers that keep the plastic in the lures soft.