Before there were cars, was oil a commodity?

Answer 1

Yes it was. There were machines that needed oiling long before cars were ever even a concept. Oil was much more raw back then, but as people learned to separate it into different weights and viscosities, more and more applications were developed for it. Oil was extracted from plants even before that. In fact, I want to say that oil was extracted from fat as far back as 5 thousand years ago and was definitely an important trade.

Answer 2

Well to some extent it was valuable. At first it was found standing in "potholes & ditches, so they didn't have to drill for it. I was used to make grease, and other lubricants Kerosene or gasoline (called "distallate" those days),- was also a good solvent for cleaning things!. As a grease or oil , -It didn't stink like lard when it got old and rancid! Naturally it wasn't used in the volume it is nowdays, but consider that there were less people, and there was less easily available too,- (because the drilling and "finding" process wasn't perfected yet!)

"lamp oil" (coal was used to make oil too at that time), - was called "coal oil", - even if it was made from petroleum. The lamp oil itself most closely resembles kerosene available today, ( some people don't know what kerosene is now). Proportionately it was used fairly heavily in those days. It took quite a load off the whaling industry, as whale oil was the main product before it was figured out how to get kerosene (& coal oil),- whale oil was used when they found out that it worked better than pitch soaked sticks (and candles)! By the way there is a by-product of whale oil, (& petroleum) that is used to make candles too!

Even in the 40s and 50s (I was a kid then),-many people still believed that "coal oil" (kerosene) had great medicinal values! Sheep herders put animals hurt feet into "coal oil" to promote healing, some also gave a concoction of stuff with it in it - to treat internal illnesses! Horse owners did likewise for hoof ailments. I can't say it helped any, - but it made the people happy anyway!

Answer 3

First of all, there are a lot of different kinds of oil, like: Biological Oil which is used for cooking or used in a salad. Well you get the idea.
Then the is the mineral oil.. That's the one we are killing for and get killed right now.... Before cars.. hmm.. well Petrolium was used to create light in the dark, and as lubricant for machines... but as to your question: NO! .. Oil really became important when cars began to be a mass-produced article. Because before that even ships were powered by coal. (and as I said: Oil was only used as a lubricant in those kinds of machines).. But as soon as Cars became important, well Oil became important, and people with oilfields became important.. and then countries that have oil became so important that they would be invaded for that simple reason only..

Answer 4

Yes, oil was refined into Kerosene and used as a source of lighting in lamps. It wasn't long before it was also used as lubricant and fuel for machinery of all types.

Answer 5

Sure, it was refined for kerosene which was the source of most indoor lighting and was the source for lubricants. Standard Oil started as a kerosene refiner, which was a HUGH business.

Answer 6

Of course.
Oil was a great resource in lubricating engines.
Especially train engines.

It wasn't until it was refine to petrolium when it became a "blue stock" commodity.

Answer 7

Ya it was... it was used for like oiling the wheels on the carts that were pulled by horses... and they used it for oil lamps

Answer 8

No there were things like Gold, Spices, Silk, Foodgrains etc. and wars too were fought for these items.

Answer 9

Yes it was used for heat and lubericant, just not as in demand or not nearly a need to be refined as much.

Answer 10

Yes. Was used as fuel in lamps, steam engines etc.