Trivia and Tidbits

HENRY FORD: A MAN WHO USED HIS BEAN Soybeans originally traveled to the United States by ship when Samuel Bowen smuggled them from China in 1765. But it was Henry Ford who put them in cars. When the Great Depression hit, it hit farmers especially hard. Huge farm surpluses meant low crop prices and dwindling income. All of a sudden Henry Ford’s best customers, American farmers, could no longer afford his cars, trucks and tractors. Ford knew that "If we want the farmer to be our customer, we must find a way to be his." He put his chemists to work determining what products could be developed from plants. After testing numerous crop plants, they narrowed their focus to soybean. Experimentation was soon rewarded with the discovery of soybean oil which made a superior auto body enamel. Soybean meal was converted to plastic used to make over 20 parts including horn buttons and gearshift knobs. By 1936, Ford was using a bushel of soybeans in every car that rolled off the line. But Henry Ford didn’t stop there. While his chefs developed a variety of tasty and nutritious American-style foods from soy (including ice cream) Henry invented soybean "wool" a fiber half the cost of sheep’s wood. Soon a fabric containing 25% soybean wool was being used to upholster many Ford autos. And on special media occasions Mr. Ford would sport a suit made of soybean fiber.