by Bruce Wells | Jan 12, 2026 | This Week in Petroleum History
Seeking to prove his cars were built better than most, Henry Ford set a world land speed record on a frozen Michigan lake. At the time, the Ford Motor Company was struggling to get financial backing for its first car, the Model T. The automotive pioneer drove his No. 999 Ford Arrow across Lake St. Clair, which separates Michigan and Canada, at a top speed of 91.37 mph. (more…)
by Bruce Wells | Sep 1, 2025 | This Week in Petroleum History
A new federal tax of up to 15 cents per thousand cubic feet was placed on manufactured gas to help fund the Civil War. Often processed from coal and stored in large gasometers, “town gas” had become popular for street and residential lighting. The Brooklyn Daily Eagle accused the local gas company of passing on the new tax, which “shifts from its shoulders its share of the burdens the war imposes and places it directly on their customers.” (more…)
