• Norman
    Larsen, president and head chemist at the Rocket Chemical Company,
    developed a water displacement formula on his fortieth try, naming it
    WD-40.Wd40_310x338

  • The
    aerospace industry needed a product to eliminate moisture from
    electrical circuitry and to prevent corrosion on airplanes and Atlas
    Missile nose-cones. The newly developed WD-40 worked so well, engineers
    working at the Rocket Chemical Company began sneaking it out of the
    plant for home use on squeaky doors and stuck locks.

  • WD-40
    became available to the public in 1958, and in 1961, a sweet fragrance
    was added to overcome the smell of the petroleum distillates. In 1969,
    the Rocket Chemical Company was renamed the WD-40 Company, after its
    only product. The WD-40 Company makes the "secret sauce," then sends it
    to packagers who add the solvent and propellant.

  • In 1964, John Glenn circled the earth in Friendship VII, which was covered with WD-40 from top to bottom.

  • The
    WD-40 Company went public on the NASDAQ exchange in 1973. The initial
    300,000 shares, available at $16.50, closed that same day at $26.50.

  • WD-40 makes over a million gallons of the "secret sauce" every year.

  • WD-40 can be found in four out of five American homes.

Source: http://www.wackyuses.com/wf_wd40.html