A
couple of years ago my son sent me the following article
stating,
“Here's a little factoid for your automotive buffs
or
just to dazzle your friends.”
The following information may be true or untrue...you decide
about the four Goldberg brothers: Lowell, Norman, Hiram and Max
who invented and developed the first automotive air conditioner.
On July 17, 1946 the temperature in Detroit was 97 degrees!
The four brothers walked into old man Henry Ford's office and
sweet-talked his secretary into telling him that four gentlemen were
there with the most exciting innovation in the auto industry since
the electric starter.
Henry was curious and invited them into his office. They refused and
instead asked that he come out to the parking lot to their car. They
persuaded him to get into the car which was about 130 degrees, turned
on the air conditioner...and cooled the car off immediately.
The
old man got very excited and invited them back to the office, where
he offered $3 million for the patent. The brothers refused, saying
they would settle for $2 million...but they wanted the recognition by
having a label The
Goldberg Air Conditioner
on the dashboard of each car in which it was installed. Now, old man Ford was more than just a little anti-Semitic...and
there was no way he was going to put the Goldberg name on two million Fords. They haggled back and forth
for about two hours...finally agreeing on $4 million...and that just
their first names would be shown.
And so, to this day, the Ford air conditioners show:
Lo,
Norm, Hi and Max
on the controls.
For
the Love of Cars!
Although a farmer for many years and eventually owning and operating
a Service Station/Garage with two bays, two Supertest Gas Pumps
located in Brantford, he'd always loved cars and trains! Every two
or three years, he changed cars from a Model T (which I don't
recall), then possibly a Peerless (unclear in my memory), a gray
slope-backed Dodge, a duel-tone blue and white Pontiac...and for my
wedding, he purchased a new Buick! Sundays, when not working at his
gas station, Mom and he would enjoy long country drives...then locate
a fine restaurant for an enjoyable dinner together.
After gaining my Driver's Licence, I'd asked Dad several times if
he'd permit me to drive en route to Port Dover one Sunday. He loved
cars! He loved driving! In lieu of permitting me to drive his car,
his advice was always handing me an Ontario map, stating, “Learn to
read a map and interpret the directions before driving anywhere!”
Thus, I became skilled at this task!
After his sudden heart-attack at age 56 in November, I drove his
valued Buick to Burlington over the winter months to keep it in
opertion; my parents' home had no garage, so his car was open to the
all-weather elements. In the spring, my advice to Mom was, “You
need to take driving lessons...or sell it!” After three attempts
she gained her licence...driving only in daytime or on
good-weather-days. After her many enjoyable years of driving, she
was never issued a violation ticket.
Driving
Violations
The
Breath Test:
This happened to an Englishman in France who was totally drunk. The
French policeman stops his car...and asks the gentleman if he has
been drinking. With great difficulty, the Englishman admits he has
been drinking all day...that his daughter got married in the morning
to a Frenchman...and that he drank champagne...a few bottles of wine
at the reception...and quite a few glasses of single malt thereafter!
Quite upset, the policeman proceeds to alco-test (breath test)
him...and asks the Englishman if he knows that under French law, why
he is going to be arrested. The Englishman answers with humour, “No,
Sir...I do not! But while we're asking questions, do you know that
this is a British car...and my wife is driving on the other side?”
Traffic
Camera:
A man was driving when he saw the flash of a traffic camera. He
figured that his picture had been taken for exceeding the speed
limit, even though he knew he was not speeding. Just to be sure, he
went around the block and passed the same spot...driving even more
slowly...but again the camera flashed. Now he began to think that
this was quite funny...so he drove even slower, but again the camera
flashed. He tried the fourth time with the same result. Doing this
a fifth time, he was now laughing when the camera flashed as he drove
past...this time at a slower pace!
Two weeks later, he got five tickets in the mail
for driving without a seat belt!
Compiled by Merle Baird-Kerr...February 10, 2017
No comments:
Post a Comment