AMBER WAS HERE

The term ‘electricity’ comes from ‘elektron’, which is the Greek word for amber. The ancient Greeks discovered that small threads and dust tended to stick to their amber jewellery and that rubbing the amber, instead of removing the particles, only made the amber collect more debris. The urge to understand what caused the amber to attract threads and dust eventually led to our knowledge of electricity. 

The classical names for amber, Latin electrum and Ancient Greek ἤλεκτρον (ēlektron), are connected to a term ἠλέκτωρ (ēlektōr) meaning "beaming Sun".[8][9] According to myth, when Phaëton son of Helios (the Sun) was killed, his mourning sisters became poplar trees, and their tears became elektron, amber.[10] The word elektron gave rise to the words electric, electricity, and their relatives because of amber's ability to bear a charge of static electricity.[11]