He didn’t invent the all-purpose penetrating oil and rust-preventer – the name, by the way, was chosen from the successful 40th trial of the water dispersant formula – but the man who made WD-40 a household item has died. John S. Barry, the mechanical engineer who took over the Rocket Chemical Company from his father-in-law and renamed it for its already-successful product, died this past week at age 84. The New York Times has an interesting obituary story about how Barry expanded the company’s distribution, jealously protected its brand, and made the spray part of the real man’s tool kit.

Clint Eastwood pays tribute to WD-40 in this clip from Gran Torino.

HT: John Miller at National Review’s “The Corner”