What exactly is Particle Board?

Some people call this wood...

Dictionary.com defines it this way:

any of various composition boards formed from small particles of wood, as flakes or shavings, tightly compressed and bonded together with a resin.
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Origin:
1955–60

Wikipedia has an article on it here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Particle_board

This crap should NEVER have been invented. It is the worst crap you can use to create anything that you would normally use wood for. It breaks easily, can't pound a nail through it without first drilling a hole otherwise it will pretty much shatter, nail pounded into it will pull out easily, and pretty much anything made with it will need to be replaced within 5 years (or at least you wish you would replace it that soon).

Unfortunately for me, I still own a printer stand that came with a desk I purchased back in 1989... 20 years... seems pretty good. I'm using it now as a TV stand and am just too lazy to replace it with the kind of stand it should have. The desk went to the fire pit long ago, along with a couple of entertainment centers.

Some genius decided it would be a good idea to make cabinet drawers out of it. I'm currently working on replacing the 4th drawer. There are still 14 more to be replaced, however, they are not bad enough to warrent my attention yet... one crisis at a time please :)

Should you ever have a chance to choice between particle board and plywood or, cost allowing, solid wood. Go with the plywood or solid wood if you can afford it. Avoid particle board at all costs...