system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
ELI5: Why does colored plastic turn white/lighter when you bend/stretch it and stay that way? What happens to the paint/coloring?
gpt
When you bend plastic, it forms teeny-tiny fractures throughout the bent area. These fractures scatter the light that passes through them, causing a surface to appear translucent or even opaque when bent.