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| Thread ID: 115982 | 2011-02-12 20:31:00 | Who put the con into air conditioning? | plod (107) | PC World Chat |
| Post ID | Timestamp | Content | User | ||
| 1177474 | 2011-02-12 20:31:00 | This is a straight cut and paste from stuffs motoring section. very entertaining Once upon a time, the four Goldberg brothers, Lorenz, Norman, Hiram, and Maximillian, invented and developed the first efficient automobile air-conditioner. On a fateful day in July, 1946, the temperature in Detroit was 36 degrees C, and the Jewish quartet walked into Henry Ford's office and sweet-talked his secretary into telling him that four gentlemen were there with the most exciting innovation for the car industry since Cadillac introduced the electric starter. Never one to let a business opportunity pass him by and ever curious, Henry invited them into his office, but they politely turned-down the invitation and instead asked the great man to come outside into the Detroit heat to their car. They even persuaded him to get into the car, whose interior by this time had heated up to about 55 degrees. The Goldbergs started the car and turned on the air conditioning, which quickly chilled the cabin down to an acceptable temperature. Ford was very impressed - some say, even excited - and he invited them back to the office, where he offered them $3 million for the patent. The brothers refused, saying they would settle for just $2 million, with the proviso that they required recognition by having the label, 'Goldberg Air-Conditioner,' on the dash of each car in which their product was installed. Now it was well known that Henry Ford was more than a little proud of his brand and there was no way he was going to put the Goldbergs' name onto the dashboards of millions of Ford products. The Goldbergs and Ford haggled back and forth for about two hours and finally agreed on $4 million, with the brothers managing to insist that their first names, in truncated form, would be be shown instead. Which is why until the agreed patent and product goodwill ran out some years later, Ford had 'Lo', 'Norm', 'Hi', and 'Max' enscribed on his cars' air conditioning control panels. |
plod (107) | ||
| 1177475 | 2011-02-12 21:09:00 | www.snopes.com | prefect (6291) | ||
| 1177476 | 2011-02-13 04:38:00 | I find that hard to believe! | Cicero (40) | ||
| 1177477 | 2011-02-13 05:27:00 | well it was a joke Cicero | plod (107) | ||
| 1177478 | 2011-02-13 09:25:00 | well it was a joke Cicero Well I'll be blowed, you had me fooled there Plod. |
Cicero (40) | ||
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