{"id":42770,"date":"2026-09-07T14:43:06","date_gmt":"2026-09-07T14:43:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/new50.info\/?p=42770"},"modified":"2026-09-07T14:43:06","modified_gmt":"2026-09-07T14:43:06","slug":"the-cold-war-origins-of-the-worlds-most-famous-household-lubricant","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new50.info\/?p=42770","title":{"rendered":"The Cold War Origins of the World\u2019s Most Famous Household Lubricant"},"content":{"rendered":"<p data-start=\"101\" data-end=\"424\">WD-40 began in the early 1950s at the Rocket Chemical Company in San Diego, where chemists were trying to create a formula that could prevent metal from rusting and corroding. Its name means <strong data-start=\"292\" data-end=\"331\">\u201cWater Displacement, 40th formula,\u201d<\/strong> reflecting the fact that the successful version was reached on the fortieth attempt in 1953<strong>&#8230;. Continue Reading \ud83d\udd3d<\/strong><!--nextpage--><\/p>\n<p data-start=\"426\" data-end=\"682\">The product soon found an important industrial use during the Cold War. Aerospace contractor Convair used it to protect the outer skin of the Atlas missile by displacing moisture and creating a protective barrier against oxidation and environmental damage.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"684\" data-end=\"936\">Employees eventually realized the same formula was useful outside aerospace work. They began using it at home on tools, hinges, bicycle chains, stuck bolts, and other mechanical parts, helping the product gain popularity through everyday practical use.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"938\" data-end=\"1238\" data-is-last-node=\"\" data-is-only-node=\"\">WD-40 later became a household staple because of its ability to repel moisture, loosen rusted parts, provide light lubrication, and protect metal surfaces. Its history shows how a product originally created for aerospace engineering became one of the most recognizable maintenance tools in the world.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>WD-40 began in the early 1950s at the Rocket Chemical Company in San Diego, where chemists were trying to create a formula\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":42771,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-42770","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>The Cold War Origins of the World\u2019s Most Famous Household Lubricant - New50<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/new50.info\/?p=42770\" \/>\n<link rel=\"next\" href=\"https:\/\/new50.info\/?p=42770&page=2\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Cold War Origins of the World\u2019s Most Famous Household Lubricant - New50\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"WD-40 began in the early 1950s at the Rocket Chemical Company in San Diego, where chemists were trying to create a formula\u2026\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/new50.info\/?p=42770\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"New50\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-09-07T14:43:06+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/new50.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/794903841_2291958261656427_6273712753734471546_n.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"526\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"519\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/new50.info\/?p=42770\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/new50.info\/?p=42770\",\"name\":\"The Cold War Origins of the World\u2019s Most Famous Household Lubricant - New50\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/new50.info\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/new50.info\/?p=42770#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/new50.info\/?p=42770#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/new50.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/794903841_2291958261656427_6273712753734471546_n.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-09-07T14:43:06+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-09-07T14:43:06+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/new50.info\/#\/schema\/person\/da88e42c726d55d6ba22ebb67b1b7e81\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/new50.info\/?p=42770\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/new50.info\/?p=42770#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/new50.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/794903841_2291958261656427_6273712753734471546_n.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/new50.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/794903841_2291958261656427_6273712753734471546_n.jpg\",\"width\":526,\"height\":519},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/new50.info\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/new50.info\/\",\"name\":\"New50\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/new50.info\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/new50.info\/#\/schema\/person\/da88e42c726d55d6ba22ebb67b1b7e81\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/new50.info\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/cd05dac79fb9ad8be13382df68a551f1?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/cd05dac79fb9ad8be13382df68a551f1?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/new50.info\/?author=2\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The Cold War Origins of the World\u2019s Most Famous Household Lubricant - New50","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/new50.info\/?p=42770","next":"https:\/\/new50.info\/?p=42770&page=2","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The Cold War Origins of the World\u2019s Most Famous Household Lubricant - New50","og_description":"WD-40 began in the early 1950s at the Rocket Chemical Company in San Diego, where chemists were trying to create a formula\u2026","og_url":"https:\/\/new50.info\/?p=42770","og_site_name":"New50","article_published_time":"2026-09-07T14:43:06+00:00","og_image":[{"width":526,"height":519,"url":"https:\/\/new50.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/794903841_2291958261656427_6273712753734471546_n.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"1 minute"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/new50.info\/?p=42770","url":"https:\/\/new50.info\/?p=42770","name":"The Cold War Origins of the World\u2019s Most Famous Household Lubricant - New50","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/new50.info\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/new50.info\/?p=42770#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/new50.info\/?p=42770#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/new50.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/794903841_2291958261656427_6273712753734471546_n.jpg","datePublished":"2026-09-07T14:43:06+00:00","dateModified":"2026-09-07T14:43:06+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/new50.info\/#\/schema\/person\/da88e42c726d55d6ba22ebb67b1b7e81"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/new50.info\/?p=42770"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/new50.info\/?p=42770#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/new50.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/794903841_2291958261656427_6273712753734471546_n.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/new50.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/794903841_2291958261656427_6273712753734471546_n.jpg","width":526,"height":519},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/new50.info\/#website","url":"https:\/\/new50.info\/","name":"New50","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/new50.info\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/new50.info\/#\/schema\/person\/da88e42c726d55d6ba22ebb67b1b7e81","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/new50.info\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/cd05dac79fb9ad8be13382df68a551f1?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/cd05dac79fb9ad8be13382df68a551f1?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"url":"https:\/\/new50.info\/?author=2"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/new50.info\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42770"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/new50.info\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/new50.info\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new50.info\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new50.info\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=42770"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/new50.info\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42770\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":42772,"href":"https:\/\/new50.info\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42770\/revisions\/42772"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new50.info\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/42771"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/new50.info\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=42770"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new50.info\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=42770"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new50.info\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=42770"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}