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"The little-known stories behind well-known inventions"

Canned invention's name has interesting origin          By Paul Niemann

[JAN. 26, 2006]  It seems like there's an interesting story behind nearly every inventor and invention. Even some of the products that we take for granted have something interesting about them.

There were three inventors of this product; the main inventor was a chemist named Norm Larsen. At the time, Norm was trying to develop a product that would prevent corrosion, which it does by displacing water. It took more than three dozen tries to finally get it right.

This was back in 1953, the same year that Lucille Ball gave birth to Desi Arnaz Jr., the same year that the New York Yankees beat the Brooklyn Dodgers in the World Series and the Minneapolis Lakers won the NBA championship. There was no Super Bowl winner because the first Super Bowl was still 12 years away.

What else happened that year? Dwight Eisenhower was president, an invention known as the TV dinner hit the market, and the armistice that signaled the end of the Korean War was signed. And a loaf of bread cost only 16 cents.

Their new invention was originally created for the space program. When workers began smuggling it out to use at their homes, executives decided there might be a consumer market for it, so they began packaging it in aerosol cans.

The San Diego-based company that makes the product was originally known as the Rocket Chemical Company. They make and sell more than 1 million cans of the stuff in the United States each week, yet only four people on the planet know its formula. The company promotes the product by stating that it has thousands of uses. If I've said it once I've said it a gazillion times: I hate it when people exaggerate.

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The brand name has been known by its initials and a number ever since it hit the market more than 50 years ago. Here's another hint: The company's other products include Lava soap, 2,000 Flushes toilet bowl cleaner and Carpet Fresh carpet deodorizer.

The product is so popular that it even has its own fan club! Not just any old fan club, but a fan club with a board of directors. Yet most people have no idea what the product's initials and number stand for.

If your car won't start, you can spray it on your car's distributor cap and it will displace moisture. Another of its uses allows you to quiet your noisy door hinges. You can even spray it on your bathroom mirror to keep the surface from fogging up. Of course, the main reason why people buy it is to use it is as a cleaner, degreaser and lubricant.

If you don't recognize the name of the Rocket Chemical Company, the maker of the product originally known as "Water Displacement -- Fortieth Attempt," it's probably because in 1969 the company changed its corporate name to the name of the product: WD-40.

[Paul Niemann]

Paul Niemann may be reached at niemann7@aol.com. You can learn more about WD-40 by visiting the official Invention Mysteries website.

Copyright Paul Niemann 2006

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