How we came to produce C60-fullerite

At the beginning two remarks. One to the nomenclature: Fullerite does not name a specific substance; it names a solid entirely consisting of fullerenes, i.e. closed-cage all-carbon molecules. When our method of synthesis is applied, a solid is obtained in which C₆₀ is the most abundant species. This material may thus be called C₆₀-fullerite. The other remark regarding the production of fullerite: in view of the ease with which this could be achieved, I have the feeling that fullerene molecules must belong to a very frequently overlooked molecular species in carbon chemistry. Since the synthesis is simple and does not require many words to be described, I thought it might be interesting to tell how we came to make fullerite.