Trichloroethylene, first synthesized in 1864, is a colorless liquid which has an exorbitant amount of uses. Introduced to the clinical world as an anesthetic in 1934, trichloroethylene is also used a cement for the construction of plastic models. The compound is also utilized to extract caffeine from coffee and fats from certain fabrics. When halothane was introduced as an anesthetic in 1956, trichloroethylene fell from prominence as an anesthetic.