[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.
#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.
#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.
#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.
#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.
[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 ||
[10324 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Iran Proxies
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
