Tarmac (short for tarmacadam, a portmanteau for tar-penetration macadam)'s a type of highway surface. Tarmac refers to a material patented by Edgar Purnell Hooley in 1901. The term's also used, with varying degrees of correctness, for a variety of other materials, including tar-grouted macadam, Tarvia, bituminous surface treatments and even modern asphalt concrete. Origins The first city to have its streets paved with tar was Baghdad in the 8th century AD. More than 1000 years later, John Loudo… (More on Tarmac)