In 1940, a major problem facing the nation was finding a replacement for rubber. War clouds were gathering, and the supply of natural rubber from Asia was threatened. On this date 74 years ago, the first synthetic rubber tire was displayed in Akron, Ohio. It was made by the B.F. Goodrich Company from readily available ingredients — soap, gas, petroleum, and air — and greatly helped the looming war effort. Now, natural rubber is used once again to make a huge variety of tires, annually replacing millions worn out by motor vehicles, aircraft and other wheeled vehicles. The U.S. makes over $18 billion worth of tires annually, and imports an additional $15 billion worth. You can find current data on the country’s economy by downloading the America’s Economy mobile application at <www.census.gov/mobile>.
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Very interesting Open Line subject today. Unfortunately, the B. F. Goodrich Company no longer exists. Even though B.F. Goodrich is still a popular brand name of tires, the Goodrich Corporation exited the tire business in 1988. The tire business and use of the name was sold to Michelin. Michelin is a tire corporation located in FRANCE. Like so many other AMERICAN products, the manufacturing of our common purchase items today are no longer “Made in the USA”. Sad, isn’t it?