When I envision a new article for I Remember JFK, I am often surprised by the amount of information that is out there for me to research. As regular readers know, I like to ferret out the history of whatever subject I cover. In the case of the bikini, that meant going all the way back to the 4th century! But with today's entry, the long-lost oil can, I was surprised to find very little on its past, and its subsequent replacement by plastic screw-top containers.
Fortunately, my memory banks are still in good shape. So off we go...
The oil can, as we know, excuse me, knew it, came about in the early twentieth century. It was then that a standard quantity of one quart was sold by most companies. The earliest cans had a solder seam. Collectors prize these oldest examples of oil cans.
By the early 40's, the soldered seal was gone, replaced with a crimped version. During WWII, when metal was in short supply, oil was sold in cardboard boxes, similar to the milk cartons we drank from in grade school.
After the war, the cardboard oil boxes disappeared. But manufacturers did begin creating the oil can that most of us remember: not really a "can," per se, but a familiar cylinder made of heavy cardboard. It was cheaper to produce, and proved just as effective as its metal counterparts.
Thus, many a garage in America had, somewhere within its midst, a stack of oil cans. These could be opened with a standard "church key" opener, or, if your dad was prone to splurge money on gadgets, you might have a genuine service station spout, which would pierce the top of the can if shoved in with a bit of force.
Oil cans were a ubiquitous part of our lives, seen everywhere and barely noticed. But in the 1960's, the oil can's demise began to be written.
Sometime around the middle of the decade, a plastic cylindrical can was created. It had a metal top, and you opened it exactly like a regular oil can.
But the early plastic cans never really took over the world. It would be the mid eighties before the twist-off cap version of the oil container would appear. It would prove so popular that the oil can would vanish by the end of the decade.
What wasn't to love? The plastic containers were resealable. They cost next to nothing to produce. And they could be made in any size, allowing you to lug one five-quart jug out of the discount store instead of five individual quarts. You can pour your used oil into the empty container and take it back for recycling.
But another little piece of our past has disappeared. Perhaps we can blame it on Navin Johnson's tormentor in The Jerk.
Comments (4)
My dad was an auto mechanic so our basement was never without a can of Mobil oil. I also remember when antifreeze came in one gallon cans of the same design.
Posted by Steve Skinner | July 13, 2009 8:57 AM
Posted on July 13, 2009 08:57
I remember those oil cans - my father always had a case in the garage and would change the oil from SAE 30 weight in the summer to SAE 10 in the winter (it would get below -40 degrees sometimes) as multi-viscosity oils were a few years off. He kept the oil spout in an old coffee can so it would drain and not leak on the garage floor.
In 1969, my grandmother died and left me her 1951 Plymouth (flathead 6 cyl.) and I was warned to only use non-detergent oil in it. Supposedly knowledgeable people told me that if detergent oil was used it would clean the carbon deposits from the seals and the car would leak oil. Well it used a great deal of oil anyway and I used to buy cases of 2 gallon cans (3 to a case) of cheap non-detergent oil @ $6/case (I don’t know if one can even still find non-detergent oil) and went thru about a gallon a week.
This arrangement went on for over a year until one night a few friends decided to take my car to Montreal, Quebec for an evening’s entertainment (it was about 50 miles from where I lived.) Somewhere on the way back before the U.S. border the oil pressure gauge (remember those?) went to zero (which was a reliable indicator that oil was needed.) I usually kept a pretty good watch on the oil level so this was a rare occurrence. So I pulled over to fill ‘er up (I had 10 gallons in the trunk) and after topping off we were on our way. About 5 miles later the pressure again dropped to zero and I knew something was amiss. There was a fog of oil smoke starting to dissipate following the car. So it was drive 5, stop and fill all the way home – (note to smugglers: If one wants to clear customs with no hassle, drive an old hoopty that’s burning loads of oil and you won’t be searched – although today environmentally concerned agents prolly would force you to pull over and be towed.)
Anyway I made it to within 2 miles of home when the oil ran out and the engine threw a rod. After I replaced the engine, I found out that the rear seal had let go and I had been basically spewing large quantities of oil onto the exhaust system – it’s a wonder the car didn’t catch on fire. Good times!!!
Posted by Burt | July 13, 2009 6:35 PM
Posted on July 13, 2009 18:35
I remember serving those oil cans at the car wash I worked at for a few months in 79. I remember buying Citgo oil sometime in the 80s cause they were the only ones who had the plastic spout with reuseable twist on/off cap. Others took a while to catch on.
Not only did those cans die out, and for once, this was a change from the 60s and 70s that was very good, but gas stations being able to fix cars were dying everywhere as gas in Maine was more oriented to self service multiple lines and selling cigarettes as well. It evolved to convenience stores converting some of the old gas stations while others built much bigger convenience stores in key locations. Most stores / gas stops are like that now here. America became a nation of automobiles, with everyone over 18 having their own vehicle more often than not.
As I see it now, after WWII, American was under a plan or rapid growth and development. It started with returning GIs and the baby boom. But when those boomers matured, it created a much bigger market and everything changes from what we knew as kids. We lived in smaller gentler times and by being born, we sort of changed it all. Ain't it ironic?
And while we were at it, our gov was developing the most technological war systems ever devised, and of course, industry here in the USA reflected that with its far more developed infrastructure that Eisenhower referred to as the military-industrial complex and complex it was.
You can learn a lot from an oil can!
Unbridled population growth creates many difficulties. It could be that we had no idea but given the vast amount of data available to big boys in high places in both gov and business, it is difficult to imagine that they also did not see the consequences. Maybe they liked the consequences. Who can say?
And neglecting our markets, which our jobs depended on, might also be questioned, but not here, I guess. But perhaps we ought to give more thought to the direction we took in embracing such a fierce aggressive military direction. For all that our society became, it is largely due to that direction.
Hey, memories are great but we do not want to miss why many of those things changed and also give some thought in hindsight as to whether we took the right turn at Albequerque that old Bugs used to talk about. That's all Folks!
Posted by Scott Irv | July 13, 2009 9:42 PM
Posted on July 13, 2009 21:42
Oil???? Is that what you put in your engines??? Probably why my 73 NOVA blew up? Lol! Oh yeah, I remember the oil cans and the metal puring spouts. I also seem to remember it being cheeaper then today! But glad the sythetics are out now. Ya know, it does seem like these old cans are few and far between? I see theem in antique stores, but don't see any along the road sides like way back in the day when that Indian was crying about the polution.
Posted by Riversend | August 11, 2009 8:45 PM
Posted on August 11, 2009 20:45