Skip to main content
Sister Publication Links
  • European Rubber Journal
  • Plastics News
web
Subscribe
  • Login
  • Register
  • Subscribe
  • News
    • ITEC
    • Automotive
    • Tire
    • Non-Tire
    • Suppliers
    • Silicone
    • Latex
    • Coronavirus
    • Executive Action
    • Government/Legal
    • Opinion
    • Technical Notebooks
    • International Elastomer Show
    • Women in Tire & Rubber
    • HEXPOL Sponsored Content
    • Goodyear recognized by Lockheed Martin as 'elite supplier'
      EV tire advancements to help secure future
      Lambillotte: Only question on AVs is timing
      CAR official says EV future brighter than autonomous
    • Smithers webinars focus on performance materials in green tires
      Ford to close 3 plants, end production in Brazil, costing $4.1 billion
      Study: Vehicle buyers cling to familiarity amid pandemic
      Kumho launches commercial LT, performance tire lines
    • Smithers webinars focus on performance materials in green tires
      Ferentino Tyre opens Sri Lanka plant; eyes exports to U.S., Europe
      Kumho launches commercial LT, performance tire lines
      Taiwan tire makers propose settlement of import duties case
    • JobsOhio funding gives Sperry & Rice room to grow
      TRAC's Glenn Maidment caps 51-year rubber industry career
      LafargeHolcim looks to solidify U.S. presence with Firestone Building Products purchase
      Hankook Tire holding company adopts Hankook & Co. identity
    • Smithers webinars focus on performance materials in green tires
      Endurica earns prestigious Tibbetts Award from SBA
      Kuraray to raise elastomer prices again
      Synthomer optimistic, raises earnings forecast
    • Safic-Alcan extends distribution agreement with Momentive
      Momentive aims to grow silicone presence in Asia-Pacific region
      IRP Medical solidifies portfolio with KDL deal
      Rubber lab services firm Ace reports record year
    • ASTM cancels April meetings as COVID-19 continues impact
      Paycheck Protection Program funding reopens Jan. 15
      Detroit Auto Show canceled; alternative event being planned for September
      Top Glove reopens COVID-hit factories with enhanced precautions
    • Jack Murphy joins Akron Dispersions
      Adriano Alfani named Versalis CEO
      Maroon Group adds to Southeast sales team
      ASTM taps rubber executive as new board member
    • Paycheck Protection Program funding reopens Jan. 15
      Taiwan tire makers propose settlement of import duties case
      Lobbying group unveils policy agenda to speed transition to EVs
      NADA, bank group to assess political contributions after U.S. Capitol siege
    • Column: Pandemic looms over everything in life, business in 2020
      Column: Lessons from the 2020 Best Places to Work
      Editorial: Silicone hit hard by pandemic, expected to bounce back
      Column: Still far way from normal
    • Effects of multiple repurposed materials for reinforcements of standard rubber compounds
      Impact of peroxide blends on the cure rate and aged properties in HNBR
      Techniques to detect long chain branching in polymers
      A comparative study looking at effects of curing kinetics and batch variation on SBR injection molding and numerical analytics
    • WORD panelists say evolution, authenticity keys to success
      IEC keynote: Communication key to logistics
      IEC speaker: Specialized elastomers may reduce spread of life-threatening pathogens
      Rubber Division seeking abstracts for Spring Technical Meeting
    • WORD panelists say evolution, authenticity keys to success
      New video celebrates women in rubber industry
      ITEC panelists say women can thrive in tire industry
      Rubber Division planning second Women of Rubber event
    • Sponsored By HEXPOL Compounding
      Faster Access to Your Polymer Compounding Experts Around the World
      Sponsored By HEXPOL Compounding
      Take a walk thru a HEXPOL Lab
      Sponsored By HEXPOL Compounding
      HEXPOL offers a unique selection of High Performance Elastomers to match your application requirements
      Sponsored By HEXPOL Compounding
      It’s what you can’t see that makes the Difference at HEXPOL
  • Blogs
    • Products
    • Wacky World of Rubber
    • New Products: MonTech introduces 1,500 kN lab press
      New products: 3M introduces new durable, pliable medical adhesive
      New Products: Lanxess launches energy-efficient PU elastomer
      New Products: MonTech automates bale cutter for safety, productivity
    • Wacky World of Rubber: How Trelleborg, teens sealed a spot in the world record book
      Wacky World of Rubber: Of chicken and feet, but not chicken feet
      Wacky World of Rubber: Time to go mattress shopping
      Wacky World of Rubber: Because nothing says football like 'frunk' shrimp
  • Newsletters
    • Rubber in Automotive
    • Silicone News
    • Latex News
    • Sign Up for Newsletters
    • Smithers webinars focus on performance materials in green tires
      Ford to close 3 plants, end production in Brazil, costing $4.1 billion
      Study: Vehicle buyers cling to familiarity amid pandemic
      Kumho launches commercial LT, performance tire lines
    • Safic-Alcan extends distribution agreement with Momentive
      Momentive aims to grow silicone presence in Asia-Pacific region
      IRP Medical solidifies portfolio with KDL deal
      Rubber lab services firm Ace reports record year
    • Jack Murphy joins Akron Dispersions
      Synthomer optimistic, raises earnings forecast
      Top Glove reopens COVID-hit factories with enhanced precautions
      Malaysia electronics group to enter rubber gloves sector
  • Multimedia
    • Videos
    • Photo Galleries
  • Directory
  • Resources
    • Classifieds & Mold Mart
    • Sponsored Content
    • White Papers
    • Sponsored By HB Chemical
      The Company Behind the Inventory
      Sponsored By French Oil Mill Machinery
      Process Improvement, Cost Reduction with Custom Press Systems
    • Sponsored By Uncountable Inc.
      Cooper Standard deploys lab informatics platform to synchronize R&D
      Sponsored By Elkem
      LSR Select™: A solution to improve your financial impact in molding applications
      Sponsored By HEXPOL Compounding
      Peroxide Cureable Silicone Injection Molding
      Sponsored By HEXPOL Compounding
      Understanding and Selecting Performance Additives for Rubber Compounding
  • Data
  • Events
    • RPN Events
    • RPN Livestreams/Webinars
    • Industry Events
    • Past Events
    • ITEC Library
    • International Silicone Conference Library
    • 2021 Healthcare Elastomers Virtual Edition
      2021 Rubber in Automotive Virtual Edition
      2020 International Silicone Conference Virtual Edition
      2020 ITEC Virtual Edition
  • Advertise
  • DIGITAL EDITION
MENU
Breadcrumb
  1. Home
  2. News
June 13, 2014 02:00 AM

Column: Here's one WWI story you probably don't know

Edward Noga
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More
    Print

    The history of rubber doesn't lack for interesting and unusual tales. Stories such as Henry Wickham smuggling 70,000 Hevea brasilensis rubber seeds out of Brazil—at the risk of his life if he'd been caught—and onto Kew Gardens in England.

    Plants derived from these seeds created the natural rubber industry in Southeast Asia, thereby breaking Brazil's monopoly on the business.

    Speaking of monopoly, how about Benjamin Franklin Goodrich, tired of being smothered by the rubber trust back East, migrating to little Akron, Ohio. There, he planted the seeds that turned Akron into the Rubber City, the center of the tire and rubber industry for a century. Not Melrose, N.Y., where his business had failed.

    For sheer boldness, you won't find many stories that match Henry Ford's massive attempt to create a NR plantation—Fordlandia—and transplant Midwest American values and lifestyle to the Brazilian jungle. Or how about the collaborative effort of industry, government and academia in World War II that created GR-S general-purpose synthetic rubber, thereby overcoming the Allies' loss of the Southeast Asian rubber plantations.

    Fascinating stories, all.

    A new one, for me, is the barter arrangement that happened in World War I between the British and the Germans. The best source on this is Adam Hochschild's excellent book, “To End All Wars: A Story of Loyalty and Rebellion, 1914-1918.”

    The British blockaded Germany, thereby making it impossible for the Germans to obtain the rubber it needed for its massive war machine, let alone civilian use. The Germans worked hard to develop synthetic rubbers, but the results were meager and the rubber subpar.

    At the same time, the British were desperate for quality binoculars. In the brutal trench warfare, they were of vital importance.

    Necessity makes strange bedfellows. As Hochschild relates, Britain's Ministry of Munitions sent an agent to neutral Switzerland where he met with the German War Office officials. Could Germany supply binoculars, one type for infantry officers, another for artillery officers?

    Germany jumped on the deal. The war office wanted rubber in return.

    Within six weeks after signing the contract, 10,000 to 15,000 of each type of binoculars were delivered to the British via neutral Switzerland. The British shipped NR from Southeast Asia and Africa through that route to Germany in payment.

    According to the scant records of the arrangement Hochschild found, the Germans offered lower-grade binoculars for non-commissioned officers, and even telescopic sites for sniper rifles.

    Think about it: The need for rubber was so huge, the German government was willing to aid in the deaths of its soldiers directly to get the material. The British war office, for its part, was fine with an agreement that had the same net result, just more indirectly.

    Since this year marks the 100th anniversary of the start of World War I, a conflict where generals displayed a criminal disregard for the lives of their troops, maybe rubber-for-binoculars isn't so surprising.

    Noga is a contributing editor for RPN and its former editor. He can be reached at [email protected]

    Related Articles
    RPN makes editorial staff changes
    Stepping into a new role
    Underwater memories
    A not-so laughing matter
    Not exactly cash cows
    Toyota recalls 6.39 million vehicles for various glitches
    A quick study on blimps
    A role model for the obsessive
    A ripple effect on NR prices
    Hey Goodyear, build it in Akron
    In need of mentors
    An interconnected world
    All the news that sort of fits
    Letter
    to the
    Editor

    Rubber & Plastics News wants to hear from its readers. If you want to express your opinion on a story or issue, email your letter to Editor Bruce Meyer at [email protected].

    SIGN UP FOR NEWSLETTERS
    EMAIL ADDRESS

    Please enter a valid email address.

    Please enter your email address.

    Please verify captcha.

    Please select at least one newsletter to subscribe.

    Get our newsletters

    Staying current is easy with Rubber & Plastics News delivered straight to your inbox, free of charge.

    Subscribe Today

    Subscribe to Rubber & Plastics News to get the best coverage and leading insights in the industry.

    SUBSCRIBE
    Connect with Us
    • LinkedIn
    • Facebook
    • Twitter

    MISSION

    To serve companies in the global rubber product industry by delivering news, industry insights, opinions and technical information.

    web
    Contact Us

    2291 Riverfront Pkwy, Suite 1000
    Cuyahoga Falls,
    OH 44221

    Customer Service:
    877-320-1726

    Resources
    • About Us
    • Digital Edition
    • Contact the Staff
    • Advertise
    • Order Reprints
    • Privacy Policy
    • Privacy Request
    • Terms of Service
    • Careers
    • Ad Choices Ad Choices
    • Sitemap
    Partner Sites
    • Tire Business
    • European Rubber Journal
    • Plastics News
    • Plastics News China
    • Urethanes Technology
    • Automotive News
    • Crain Brands
    Copyright © 1996-2021. Crain Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
    • News
      • ITEC
      • Automotive
      • Tire
      • Non-Tire
      • Suppliers
      • Silicone
      • Latex
      • Coronavirus
      • Executive Action
      • Government/Legal
      • Opinion
      • Technical Notebooks
      • International Elastomer Show
      • Women in Tire & Rubber
      • HEXPOL Sponsored Content
    • Blogs
      • Products
      • Wacky World of Rubber
    • Newsletters
      • Rubber in Automotive
      • Silicone News
      • Latex News
      • Sign Up for Newsletters
    • Multimedia
      • Videos
      • Photo Galleries
    • Directory
    • Resources
      • Classifieds & Mold Mart
      • Sponsored Content
      • White Papers
    • Data
    • Events
      • RPN Events
      • RPN Livestreams/Webinars
      • Industry Events
      • Past Events
      • ITEC Library
      • International Silicone Conference Library
    • Advertise
    • DIGITAL EDITION