| Over 70,000 years ago, prehistoric man | | | | when more elaborate lamps were being |
| discovered that oils can burn brightly for | | | | produced. They featured animals, people, |
| long periods of time. This discovery was | | | | foods and even gods. |
| probably made when people cooked animals over | | | | |
| the fire and noticed that the dripping animal | | | | Oil was also used to create flaming torches |
| fat soaked the wood and made it burn longer. | | | | to light hallways and large rooms. Torches |
| They learned to place moss, wood and other | | | | were mounted in sconces on walls. They were |
| organic fibers into a stone with a hollowed | | | | usually bundles of sticks dipped in pitch, or |
| out place to hold the oils. They used animal | | | | tar. They were actually only used for special |
| fats, fish oil, whale oil, beeswax or | | | | events or dinners. Usually people used oil |
| vegetable oils pressed from sesame seeds, | | | | lamps. |
| nuts and olives. They soon discovered that | | | | |
| fires would burn even longer if they burned | | | | In the 1780's, the Argand lamp was invented |
| fibers with one end dipped in the oil, much | | | | by Aime Argand. He realized that you could |
| like a wick. It didn't take long for them to | | | | make a lamp burn at least ten times brighter |
| discover that they could easily use petroleum | | | | than a candle. He accomplished this by |
| which they could gather from oil seeps or | | | | placing the wick in the center of the lamp |
| pools on top of the ground. | | | | and covering it with a glass chimney to |
| | | | control air flow. It turned out to be a very |
| Early Egyptians are credited with creating | | | | clean burning alternative to all other lamps |
| the first stone bowl lamps. They laid a wick | | | | produced up to this date, and soon |
| over the lip and could burn oils from within | | | | revolutionized home life by brightly lighting |
| the bowl. These bowls were hand-carved from | | | | houses at night for the first time in |
| rock and extremely rare. Later, a little over | | | | history. The Argand lamp burned whale oil |
| 2,000 years ago, they discovered how to make | | | | until the production of kerosene from |
| bowls from pottery and lamps could be widely | | | | petroleum came about seventy years after the |
| produced. They also started pinching the | | | | Argand lamp's invention. Refining oil into |
| edges together to make a neck which could | | | | kerosene changed everything and led to the |
| hold the wick in place. | | | | beginning of the oil age. It quickly replaced |
| | | | whale oil as the main source of fuel in North |
| Later the Greeks would improve the design by | | | | America and Europe. Companies like Western |
| creating a lid to place over the bowl. They | | | | Pipeline Corporation still drill today to |
| left a small hole for the oil and a spout for | | | | provide us with an endless list of products |
| the wick. The lid helped to prevent spills | | | | derived from oil. Make-up, plastics, carpet |
| and also helped control the flow of air into | | | | fibers, clothes dyes, ink and lightweight |
| the lamp. This made the oil last much longer. | | | | eyeglasses are all derived from oil. So, the |
| By Roman times, virtually every household | | | | next time you take an aspirin, wear tennis |
| utilized oil lamps. Most were made of clay or | | | | shoes or dye your hair, you can thank |
| bronze by this time. A few were made of | | | | prehistoric man for inspiring it all over |
| glass, gold or silver. Around this time is | | | | 70,000 years ago in his quest for light. |