WD-40 Promoter Dies

[Ted]

John S. Barry, the man who made WD-40 a worldwide household item, died at age 84.

Article

[rickharris]

Shame - did he just slip away?

I guess the mourners at the funeral could have been well oiled.

!! gallows humour

[Sunflowers]

John S. Barry, the man who made WD-40 a worldwide household item, died at age 84.

Article

There was an entire programme about WD-40 on the radio a few days ago . It was very interesting because it went right into the history of it, how it came to be made and the attempts to sell it and some of the competitors around at the time. Unfortunately, I can't link to it because the "listen again" function is only available for 7 days after any broadcast.

[Elefino]

Shame - did he just slip away?

I guess the mourners at the funeral could have been well oiled.

No but the Presiding Minister had become a little rusty until this service.

[LA Bob]

I heard that Ford Motor Company invested in WD-40 due to rumors Barry was working out a deal at GM.

Supposedly, it was to have been called WD Chevy.

• Barry also cornered the personal pumice market with Lava Soap.
• He also kept America's garment industry 3-in-1 Oiled.
• He cleans up at my office where we go though 4-5 cans of Spot Shot Carpet Cleaner every year.

For my money though, he never really came up with the perfect solution to prevent losing the little red application tube thingy. Rubber bands, clumsy holder rings that interfered wit the cap or got lost along with the red thingy. ( I'm just sayin'. )


But if that's all St. Peter has to complain about I guess Barry is doing OK.

[weasley]

This not good enough for ya?!

[Old Dad]

This not good enough for ya?!

Now THAT simple little thing really IS neat. I never used the stuff much but it *was* good for frozen nuts and bolts. And the only reason I kept on buying it is because I'd always loose the straw after one or two uses. (During the time between applications the rubber band had time to disintegrate and the straw went to the same place as the lost mate to a pair of socks.)

[Elefino]

For my money though, he never really came up with the perfect solution to prevent losing the little red application tube thingy. Rubber bands, clumsy holder rings that interfered wit the cap or got lost along with the red thingy. ( I'm just sayin'. )


But if that's all St. Peter has to complain about I guess Barry is doing OK.

I recently bought a can of WD-40, They cut a couple of notches in the cap to hold the little red tube

[LA Bob]

I'm kind of in the same boat as OD. I don't use the stuff often enough to shop for it too often and all these new ways of hanging on to the "straw" (as appears to be the proper nomeclature rather than applicator tube thingy) weren't there the last time I went to Costco and picked up a couple of cases for our shop and service trucks.

Note to self: Get the SmartStraw containers of WD Chevy. Hey, GM is re-inventing itself, too. Who knows?

Anyway, Barry walked his own road. One-of-a-kind. Bet his hinges didn't squeak.