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A Whale-Oiled Machine
99% Invisible
The Life of a Whale Oil Refiner
Nye led the charge of oil refiners who applied the principles of chemistry, physics and engineering to the problem of friction. He wasn't just an engineer but also something of a showboat on the marketing front. Nye hocked his whale oil as a cure-all for anything with moving parts in 1893. By 1900 he had started experimenting with lubricant from different sources, like olive oil and meat-foot oil made from cattle bones.
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