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Vaseline:
A Public Radio Commentary
by Bill Hammack
Listen using RealAudio
Right in your medicine cabinet is one of the very first products
made from oil. Its that jar of vaseline, known generically as
petroleum jelly.
It began in the late 19th century with a young chemist, Robert
Chesebrough, who sold kerosene. Chesebrough got his kerosene from
the oil of sperm whales, but by 1859 he was put out of business
when, in Titusville, Pennsylvania, the first successful oil well
was installed. This new "oil" attracted him to Titusville. While
visiting he learned of a gooey substance, called rod wax, that
stuck to the drilling rigs. It built up on drill bits as they
punctured the ground. This rod wax was a nuisance to the riggers.
They just scrapped it off and tossed it away. But rumors floated
around that it had miraculous healing powers. So, Chesebrough got
a bucket, loaded it up with this black wax and took a sample back
to his Brooklyn Lab.
As a chemist it didn't take him long to extract the key
ingredient - the translucent material we know today as petroleum
jelly. Today we wouldn't get very excited about something like
petroleum jelly, but in Chesebrough's time, the only oils
available where lard, goose grease or garlic oil -- all of which
spoiled and smelled awful. So Chesebrough's nearly colorless,
unspoilable, odorless oil seemed like a miracle.
To test it's miracle properties he inflicted cuts and burns on
himself, then covered them with his new gel. It did help,
although at the time no one realized that this was because it
sealed out bacteria, thus preventing infections.
Satisfied that his new grease had healing properties, he took to
the road with his own medicine show, but first he named his gel.
Using the German word for water (wasser) and the Greek word for
oil (elaion) he came up with "Vaseline." Next, he travelled
around New York State demonstrating his miracle vaseline. Before
a rapt audience he'd burn his skin with acid or an open flame,
then spread the clear jelly on his injuries, showing at the same
time his past injuries, healed, he claimed, by his miracle
product.
Amazingly this worked. Soon he was selling a jar a minute, and
when these ran out people begged their druggists to order more
from Chesebrough. It was used for everything: chest colds,
chapped hands, nasal congestion, and even to remove stains from
furniture. By the turn of the twenty century it had penetrated
the American market and was entering Europe, making Chesebrough a
very rich man.
Although its miracle properties were eventually debunked,
Chesebrough himself was always a true believer. He lived to age
96, revealing shortly before he died the secret to his longevity:
Every day of his life he ate a spoonful of vaseline.
Copyright 2002 William S. Hammack Enterprises
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