Latest news with #1859
Daily Mail
4 days ago
- General
- Daily Mail
Do YOU know where Vaseline comes from? People left shocked after discovering how the popular balm is made
The origins of popular healing balm Vaseline have left people shocked - and some now have more questions than answers. On an episode of QI, aired by the BBC, Sandi Toksvig asked her guests whether any of them knew the origins of Vaseline - which is commonly used to soothe dry skin. It is quickly pointed out that this is 'Petroleum Jelly', before Sandi launches into a lengthy retelling of its origin story. 'There was an English-born American chemist called Robert Augustus Chesebrough and originally he had a sperm whale oil company,' she says. 'And weirdly, it went out of business and became less popular. So there was a great oil rush in the United States, particularly in Pennsylvania in 1859. 'So, he thought: "What am I going to do?"' The chemist noticed that the oil workers in Pennsylvania 'used the gunk that accumulated around the drill rods to heal cuts and burns, Sandi explains. 'And he spent 10 years perfecting a process to distill it into Petroleum Jelly. 'He named it Vaseline as a trademark in 1872.' But, Sandi explains, nobody was interested, so he would travel on a horse and cars selling what he dubbed 'Wonder Jelly'. 'In order to demonstrate how brilliant it was, he burnt patches of his own skin - and before long, he was selling a jar a minute.' After hearing this story, some viewers were confused about exactly what this 'gunk' is. After hearing the story, some viewers were confused about exactly what this 'gunk' is One person said: 'So it comes from gunk on a drill rod but where does that gunk come from?' Others found the explanation simply fascinating.
Times
12-05-2025
- Climate
- Times
Scotland ‘in front line of climate change' as temperature soars
River levels are causing concern in Scotland as the unseasonably warm and dry weather continues. Tuesday is likely to be hotter in the west Highlands than in Morocco, with the BBC predicting that the temperature will reach 25C, a degree higher than Marrakesh, the African country's fourth-largest city. Visitors to the Cairngorms National Park, near Aviemore, were warned not to have barbecues after an 'extreme' warning for wildfires was extended across mainland Scotland. So far this month the country has had only 2.9mm of rain, which is only 3 per cent of the total expected for all of a typical May. The driest recorded May in Scotland was in 1859, when 9.6mm of rain fell. Parts of the country are beginning to show signs of
