The automotive headlight is not exactly the most exciting part of a car, right? Wrong. Back in the early 1900s not only were headlights new and exciting, they were explosive and deadly. This incredible look back at the early history of headlights is likely a topic you've never heard about or thought about before.
Because no suitable electric bulb for cars had been invented yet, brave entrepreneurs looked for a solution and found one in the form of acetylene gas. This cheap to produce and highly flammable gas burned bright enough to shame all other available light sources. There were problems, though. Like the fact that the Prest-O-Lite company had 15 plants explode between 1907 and 1917.
This episode of the Dork-O-Motive podcast looks back at these wild years, the technology behind it, how fortunes were made, buildings were leveled, and lives were lost. All to simply see a little bit better in the dark.
1.23: Operation Snowbound: How American Teamwork Saved Millions of People and Livestock During The Worst Winter Ever
1.22: Knievel vs The Canyon: The Insane and Incredible Story Of The Snake River Canyon Jump
1.21: Henry's Big Screwjob: How The Dodge Brothers and Henry Ford Made Millions While Hating Each Other
1.20: Honest Abe Was A Gearhead: How Abraham Lincoln Became The Only President With A Patent and More!
1.19: Wally vs The World: How Wally Parks Shocked The America And Gained Control of Drag Racing In 1958
1.18: A Miraculous Disaster - In 1949 The Holland Tunnel Burned At 4,000-Degrees And No One Died
1.17: How To Mow Down A Forest Like Grass: The Brutal Genius Of Operation Highball In 1950
1.16: The Forgotten Disaster - How America's Worst Maritime Nightmare Happened In 1865 And Who It Happened To
1.15: The Killer Plane and The American Hero That Tamed It - Jimmy Doolittle and the 300mph Gee Bee R1
1.14: The 576mph Backyard Hot Rodder - Art Arfons Was America's Fastest Do It All Bad Ass
1.13: Hellfighter The Story Of The Mack Super Pumper A Firetruck Mighty Enough To Extinguish Hell Itself
1.12: The Race To Death: The 1903 Paris to Madrid Contest Was The Worst Race Ever Held
1.11 Don't Judge A Failure By It's Cover: The Insane Story Of The Vulcan Shuttle
1.10: International Incident- How American Indy Cars Destroyed Formula One Cars Heads Up At Monza In 1957 and 1958
1.9: The Wrong Guys With The Wrong Car: How Two Drag Racers Set The Closed Course Speed Record At Daytona In 1961
1.8: They Partied Like Hell - The Story Of Wreckage, Debauchery, and A Burning Bus At The 1974 US Grand Prix
1.7 The Final Dinosaur: The Story Of The Last Front Engine Dragster To Win An NHRA Top Fuel Wally
1.6: The Most Insane Speed Parts Company In History - Turbonique! Thrust, Danger, and Federal Prison Sentences
Short-O-Motive: The Day An Airplane Destroyed The Tree At An NHRA National Event
1.5: The Mafia Killer Who Loved Funny Cars - The Full Story of Broadway Freddy DeName
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