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Israel Police Arrest Palestinian Trying To Enter Court With Pipe Bomb
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Page 6: Politix
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Economy
How The Birth Of The Oil Industry Saved Whales And Propelled Today's Prosperity
[The Federalist] This Aug. 28 marks the 160-year anniversary of the birth of the oil industry, not in Saudi Arabia, but in western Pennsylvania, right here in the United States. Don’t let this day slip by without giving thanks toward an industry that has done so much, including to save the whales, to improve the quality of life for many and transform our society for the better.

Way before the birth of the oil industry in 1859, knowledge of oil had been around for centuries. Archaeologists discovered that the Mesopotamians and the Babylonians used oil in construction and medicines.

Since oil often bubbled up to the surface, for hundreds of years the Seneca Indian tribe in Pennsylvania had collected some from creeks and water wells and used it as an insect repellent and as a medicine to treat stiff joints and ailments. By the 1850s, however, numerous salt miners in western Pennsylvania began to regard oil as a nuisance because it often emerged at the surface of their salt wells, and they didn’t know how to tackle the issue until Samuel Kier came along.

FINDING NEW USES FOR OIL
Kier and his father were owners of several salt wells at Tarentum, Pennsylvania. Initially, Kier was just as irritated as everyone else that oil kept contaminating his salt well. But unlike the rest, Kier initiated a chemical analysis of the oil and discovered that some of its components were identical to the "American Medicinal Oil" his wife used for joint pain.

A good entrepreneur never wastes new opportunities. In 1852, Kier began to sell oil from his salt well as "Kier’s Rock Oil" in 8-ounce jars for 50 cents each, marketing it a "medicine" for burns, asthma, and many more ailments.

Since there was more oil than Kier could sell as medicine, he began to look for other ways to commercialize his excessive supply. He sent a sample to professor James Curtis Booth of the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia, founder of the first commercial chemical laboratory in the United States. Booth’s analysis proved that the rock oil could be distilled for use in lighting.

Back then, people relied on oil candles and lamps that used whale blubber for lighting. Whale blubber was not a viable option for the poor, however, because it was too costly to produce. It required big ships and manual labor to hunt whales, not to mention it is difficult to keep in storage for a long time and has a very unpleasant smell.

The supply of whale blubber was also limited: An average-sized whale could only produce between 25 to 40 barrels of oil. Starting in the 18th century, the Industrial Revolution drove up demand for whale blubber, and the hunt for whales to meet such demand almost drove them into extinction. Innovators had been searching for different materials that could provide lighting in a cheap, clean, and safe manner.
Posted by: Besoeker || 08/29/2019 00:16 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:

#1  "Kier’s Rock Oil" in 8-ounce jars for 50 cents each
Thats a bit over $16.00 in todays coin. And an average laborer working 60 hrs a week made about $5.90 per week way back then.
Posted by: Classer || 08/29/2019 3:08 Comments || Top||

#2  Of course, if we ever got the Green Bad Deal, there'd be no electricity to run the teevees and movie theaters and the proles would not have money for streaming subscriptions. Like all good communists, the Hollyweird crowd assumes this will not affect their lifestyles a whit...
Posted by: M. Murcek || 08/29/2019 7:03 Comments || Top||

#3  And very Happy Birthday to all who ever slung either pipe or deal. Keep in mind that it was 10 years earlier that the US Government first warned of declining hydrocarbon resources...10 YEARS BEFORE THE 1ST OILWELL WAS EVEN DRILLED!

I think we can obviously conclude the only thing better than an expert is a government expert.
Posted by: Cesare || 08/29/2019 8:19 Comments || Top||

#4  Here's one for Cesare.
Posted by: Besoeker || 08/29/2019 8:23 Comments || Top||

#5  On a side note, the entire bureaucracy known as the Department of Energy was created due to the Arab oil embargo because of America's support of Israel in '73. We've 'drilled' ourselves out of that situation. The entire rational for DoE is now defunct. Peel out the old Atomic Energy Commission and dissolve the entire department.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 08/29/2019 9:03 Comments || Top||

#6  Lubrication was an important driver. With the onset of the Age of Steam™ there was a need for greasy "stuff": animal grease, whale grease, etc. were just not keeping up with the demand. There was even a trade in Palm Oil (Note that the current "sustainable" Palm Oil was deemed too big a hassle in the 1800's! Take That! you Greenies wanted to fill the Third World with eco-fuel plantations). Petroleum-based greases filled that void nicely.
Posted by: magpie || 08/29/2019 11:36 Comments || Top||

#7  Spent a summer engineering internship at Pennzoil in Oil City, PA. They still believe they have the highest quality oil in the world.
Posted by: Chath Angens8595 || 08/29/2019 15:29 Comments || Top||

#8  I'm still in the oilfield, don't sling pipe but have been MWD, Mudlogger and atm am on a special project Schlumberger calls the Rig of the Future.

Whee:)
Posted by: Silentbrick || 08/29/2019 16:36 Comments || Top||


Iraq
How a Proxy War Could Blow Up Iraq‐Again
[FP] With the country barely stabilizing after 16 years of conflict, war-weary Iraqis fear a new eruption of attacks by the U.S. and Israel against Iranian-backed forces inside the country.

BAGHDAD‐When a mysterious drone strike killed two members of Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) on Sunday‐and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hinted that his country might be involved‐it was only the latest sign to war-weary Iraqis that they can’t get a break. Just as they’re getting on their feet, Iraq is becoming a battleground for foreigners once again.
Posted by: Besoeker || 08/29/2019 00:41 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Iran Proxies

#1  Be a shame if we were unable to attend.
Posted by: Besoeker || 08/29/2019 4:45 Comments || Top||

#2  When Colin Powell espoused his "Pottery Barn" rule that should have got everyone thinking - "I'll bet he's a Pottery Barn shopping kind of guy..."
Posted by: M. Murcek || 08/29/2019 7:00 Comments || Top||

#3  Powell used to love restoring Volvo cars. Perhaps he still does.
Posted by: Besoeker || 08/29/2019 7:14 Comments || Top||

#4  What kind of car does a gynecologist drive? A Volvah...
Posted by: M. Murcek || 08/29/2019 8:04 Comments || Top||

#5  Murcek, time was those trannies didn't need no maintenance.
Posted by: Dron66046 || 08/29/2019 8:11 Comments || Top||

#6  Yeah. It was a stick shift or a slushbox, and mechanics who knew everything about one kind basicall knew nothing about the other...
Posted by: M. Murcek || 08/29/2019 8:22 Comments || Top||



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3Sublime Porte
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2Govt of Iran Proxies
2Hezbollah
2Govt of Iraq
2Govt of Sudan
2Commies
1Moslem Colonists
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Two weeks of WOT
Thu 2019-08-29
  Israel Police Arrest Palestinian Trying To Enter Court With Pipe Bomb
Wed 2019-08-28
  Drone belonging to #Haftar destroys an ambulance
Tue 2019-08-27
  VIDEO LINK MUSK DID IT! Starhopper flys and LANDS!
Mon 2019-08-26
  IED exploded outside holding area of Pak Consulate General in Jalalabad
Sun 2019-08-25
  Taliban militants kidnap a member of Provincial Council from Samangan-Baghlan Highway
Sat 2019-08-24
  Afghan Special Forces storm the hideout of a key ISIS facilitator of suicide bombings
Fri 2019-08-23
  Gaddafi-loyal commander killed by pro-Haftar forces
Thu 2019-08-22
  Iran moves to strike 4 zeroes from its battered currency
Wed 2019-08-21
  Taliban chief Mullah Haibatullah was the primary target of Quetta bombing
Tue 2019-08-20
  Furniture, books 'torched' at girls school in Gilgit-Baltistan's Diamer
Mon 2019-08-19
  Another prayer leader killed near Quetta
Sun 2019-08-18
  Explosion Targets Wedding Hall In Kabul; Casualties Feared UPDATE: 63 dead, ISIS claims it
Sat 2019-08-17
  Two killed in Pakistan mosque bomb blast
Fri 2019-08-16
  Special Forces arrest Khalifa Daud, Haqqani network’s key member in Kabul
Thu 2019-08-15
  Iraq anti-terrorism troops kill 10 IS militants, capture 5 others in Anbar

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