By Jim Fitch
Machinery Lubrication Magazine
While the lubrication field is rich in folklore, some of these legends are harmful to the progress of lubrication and best practices. These include false claims that lead users down the wrong road to suboptimum or even destructive maintenance practices. Some of these legends are ancient, dating back a hundred years. For example, in the early days of the petroleum industry, there were different beliefs about the potential value and uses of crude oil. In one case, around 1857, Pittsburgh druggist Samuel M. Kier began bottling petroleum oil from a brine well. Believing it had medicinal power, he sold it to his customers to be taken internally. People died young in those days.