1 00:00:00,280 --> 00:00:08,600 Speaker 1: This Day in History Class is a production of iHeartRadio. 2 00:00:10,600 --> 00:00:14,480 Speaker 1: Hello and welcome to This Day in History Class, a 3 00:00:14,600 --> 00:00:18,079 Speaker 1: show that cruises the backstreets of history one day at 4 00:00:18,120 --> 00:00:22,440 Speaker 1: a time. I'm Gabeluesier, and today we're looking at the 5 00:00:22,480 --> 00:00:26,360 Speaker 1: automotive innovation that made getting a flat tire far less 6 00:00:26,520 --> 00:00:38,879 Speaker 1: likely and less dangerous than it used to be. The 7 00:00:39,040 --> 00:00:44,800 Speaker 1: day was May eleventh, nineteen forty seven. The BF Goodrich 8 00:00:44,880 --> 00:00:48,520 Speaker 1: Company announced its development of a tube Bliss car tire. 9 00:00:49,320 --> 00:00:52,800 Speaker 1: Several patents for tube Bliss tires had been granted before 10 00:00:53,080 --> 00:00:56,440 Speaker 1: outside the United States, but they were always held back 11 00:00:56,520 --> 00:01:01,720 Speaker 1: by technical limitations. BF Goodrich to break that pattern, and 12 00:01:01,800 --> 00:01:05,240 Speaker 1: although its own patent was still under review, the company 13 00:01:05,280 --> 00:01:09,279 Speaker 1: felt confident enough to announce production of the first tire 14 00:01:09,600 --> 00:01:13,000 Speaker 1: without an inner tube of air. The design was the 15 00:01:13,040 --> 00:01:16,240 Speaker 1: result of more than three years of engineering and was 16 00:01:16,280 --> 00:01:20,680 Speaker 1: said to possess several advantages over traditional tires, including greater 17 00:01:20,840 --> 00:01:25,039 Speaker 1: safety and durability. Good Rich was still road testing the 18 00:01:25,080 --> 00:01:27,920 Speaker 1: tires at the time of the announcement, and the company 19 00:01:27,959 --> 00:01:31,520 Speaker 1: wouldn't receive a patent for them until nineteen fifty two, 20 00:01:31,640 --> 00:01:35,720 Speaker 1: but once Tubeliss tires were finally widely available, it was 21 00:01:35,840 --> 00:01:39,480 Speaker 1: clear they'd been worth the weight. Within three years of 22 00:01:39,520 --> 00:01:44,680 Speaker 1: the national rollout, Tubeliss tires became the industry's standard for automobiles, 23 00:01:45,240 --> 00:01:48,160 Speaker 1: just as they are today. If you think of a 24 00:01:48,240 --> 00:01:51,600 Speaker 1: tire as a cushioned wheel, then the concept dates back 25 00:01:51,640 --> 00:01:55,240 Speaker 1: to at least the fourteenth century. That's when some Europeans 26 00:01:55,280 --> 00:01:58,280 Speaker 1: began using leather to wrap the wooden wheels of their 27 00:01:58,320 --> 00:02:02,040 Speaker 1: wagons so that their ride would be smoother. Over time, 28 00:02:02,360 --> 00:02:06,240 Speaker 1: rubber gradually replaced leather as the wheel dressing of choice, 29 00:02:06,440 --> 00:02:10,120 Speaker 1: and eventually inner wheels were scrapped completely in favor of 30 00:02:10,240 --> 00:02:14,200 Speaker 1: tires made from solid rubber. The next innovation came in 31 00:02:14,240 --> 00:02:18,880 Speaker 1: the eighteen forties, when Scottish engineer Robert Thompson patented the 32 00:02:18,919 --> 00:02:24,320 Speaker 1: first pneumatic tire or tube tire. His design consisted of 33 00:02:24,360 --> 00:02:28,480 Speaker 1: a rubberized fabric tube filled with air and enclosed within 34 00:02:28,520 --> 00:02:33,520 Speaker 1: a hollow leather tire. Thompson's aerial wheels, as he called them, 35 00:02:33,760 --> 00:02:36,800 Speaker 1: were faster and more comfortable to ride on than wheels 36 00:02:36,800 --> 00:02:39,720 Speaker 1: of wood or solid rubber, but the inner tubes they 37 00:02:39,760 --> 00:02:43,920 Speaker 1: relied on were incredibly expensive to produce. As a result, 38 00:02:44,120 --> 00:02:47,679 Speaker 1: the idea for air filled tires fell by the wayside 39 00:02:47,720 --> 00:02:52,720 Speaker 1: for another forty years. In eighteen eighty eight, Scottish veterinarian 40 00:02:52,840 --> 00:02:57,359 Speaker 1: John Boyd Dunlop revived the concept for use on bicycles 41 00:02:57,400 --> 00:03:01,480 Speaker 1: and other non motorized vehicles. Then in the eighteen nineties, 42 00:03:01,760 --> 00:03:06,680 Speaker 1: French tire manufacturer Michelin proved that pneumatic tires could also 43 00:03:06,800 --> 00:03:11,760 Speaker 1: be used successfully on automobiles. Tubed tires became the norm 44 00:03:11,840 --> 00:03:15,440 Speaker 1: for the next fifty years. The standard design consisted of 45 00:03:15,520 --> 00:03:19,000 Speaker 1: two parts, just like Robert Thompson's. There was the inner 46 00:03:19,040 --> 00:03:22,600 Speaker 1: tube filled with compressed air and a rubber outer casing 47 00:03:22,680 --> 00:03:26,320 Speaker 1: wrapped around it. It seemed like an ideal arrangement, with 48 00:03:26,400 --> 00:03:29,360 Speaker 1: the air tube ensuring a softer ride and the rubber 49 00:03:29,400 --> 00:03:33,320 Speaker 1: shell protecting the tube and giving the tire traction. However, 50 00:03:33,880 --> 00:03:38,360 Speaker 1: there was a major downside to pneumatic tires on long drives. 51 00:03:38,640 --> 00:03:41,520 Speaker 1: Road friction tended to heat up both the tire and 52 00:03:41,600 --> 00:03:44,520 Speaker 1: the tube of air inside it, and if that heated 53 00:03:44,560 --> 00:03:47,960 Speaker 1: tube suffered even the slightest puncture, it could cause a 54 00:03:48,040 --> 00:03:52,160 Speaker 1: serious blowout or even shred the tire completely. As you 55 00:03:52,240 --> 00:03:56,800 Speaker 1: might expect, tire blowouts were more frequent and more injurious 56 00:03:56,880 --> 00:04:00,320 Speaker 1: during the heyday of tubed tires, and that in inherent 57 00:04:00,440 --> 00:04:03,280 Speaker 1: safety risk is one of the main reasons why BF 58 00:04:03,320 --> 00:04:07,280 Speaker 1: Goodrich decided to ditch the tube for good. Returning to 59 00:04:07,440 --> 00:04:11,400 Speaker 1: solid rubber wheels wasn't an option, though, as drivers had 60 00:04:11,400 --> 00:04:14,440 Speaker 1: grown accustomed to riding on a cushion of air. The 61 00:04:14,600 --> 00:04:17,720 Speaker 1: challenge then was to find a way to trap pressurized 62 00:04:17,760 --> 00:04:22,320 Speaker 1: air within the tire walls themselves rather than in a tube. 63 00:04:22,360 --> 00:04:25,800 Speaker 1: That way, there would be less internal friction, and any 64 00:04:25,839 --> 00:04:29,560 Speaker 1: heat that did build up would dissipate more efficiently without 65 00:04:29,600 --> 00:04:32,200 Speaker 1: a rubber tube in the middle to absorb it. That 66 00:04:32,320 --> 00:04:36,159 Speaker 1: alone would have resulted in fewer blowouts. But Goodrich also 67 00:04:36,240 --> 00:04:39,240 Speaker 1: planned to reinforce the walls of its tires so that 68 00:04:39,279 --> 00:04:42,400 Speaker 1: they would hold up better to punctures, either by leaking 69 00:04:42,440 --> 00:04:45,640 Speaker 1: air more slowly or by being plugged by whatever had 70 00:04:45,640 --> 00:04:49,000 Speaker 1: pierced the tire in the first place. As mentioned earlier, 71 00:04:49,279 --> 00:04:52,520 Speaker 1: the BF Goodrich Company wasn't the first to think of 72 00:04:52,560 --> 00:04:56,640 Speaker 1: these improvements. Many patents for tubeless tires had been filed 73 00:04:56,680 --> 00:04:59,160 Speaker 1: in the past, at least one as far back as 74 00:04:59,240 --> 00:05:03,520 Speaker 1: nineteen twenty eight. The problem was most of those designs 75 00:05:03,600 --> 00:05:07,120 Speaker 1: employed natural rubber, which was too soft and prone to 76 00:05:07,160 --> 00:05:11,840 Speaker 1: air leakage. Goodrich succeeded where others had failed, largely due 77 00:05:11,880 --> 00:05:17,039 Speaker 1: to timing. Thanks to wartime advances in manufacturing, synthetic buttle 78 00:05:17,160 --> 00:05:20,880 Speaker 1: rubber had become much easier and cheaper to make. It 79 00:05:21,000 --> 00:05:23,720 Speaker 1: was the perfect choice for tires because it was much 80 00:05:23,760 --> 00:05:27,599 Speaker 1: harder and far less porous than natural rubber. So once 81 00:05:27,640 --> 00:05:30,719 Speaker 1: World War II was over, Goodrich set to work on 82 00:05:30,800 --> 00:05:34,400 Speaker 1: trying to produce the world's first functional tube bliss tire. 83 00:05:35,160 --> 00:05:38,360 Speaker 1: The final design was the work of research and development 84 00:05:38,440 --> 00:05:42,680 Speaker 1: engineer Frank Herzig, working for Goodrich. He applied for a 85 00:05:42,720 --> 00:05:46,600 Speaker 1: patent in nineteen forty six, never suspecting that the approval 86 00:05:46,640 --> 00:05:51,200 Speaker 1: process would drag on for nearly six years. Herzig didn't 87 00:05:51,200 --> 00:05:54,520 Speaker 1: sit around waiting, though. Instead he used the time to 88 00:05:54,600 --> 00:05:58,159 Speaker 1: personally test the tires in a Texas desert. He also 89 00:05:58,279 --> 00:06:01,839 Speaker 1: arranged other road tests, including installing the tires on a 90 00:06:01,880 --> 00:06:05,200 Speaker 1: fleet of taxis and on cars used by the Ohio 91 00:06:05,400 --> 00:06:10,640 Speaker 1: State Police. B F. Goodrich was founded and headquartered in Akron, Ohio. 92 00:06:11,760 --> 00:06:14,800 Speaker 1: The road testing proved successful, so by the time the 93 00:06:14,880 --> 00:06:17,919 Speaker 1: U S. Patent Office finally gave the ok in nineteen 94 00:06:18,000 --> 00:06:21,440 Speaker 1: fifty two, the company's Tubeliss tires were ready to roll. 95 00:06:21,960 --> 00:06:25,240 Speaker 1: The first US car to come standard with Tubeliss tires 96 00:06:25,480 --> 00:06:29,560 Speaker 1: was the nineteen fifty four Packered Clipper. The tire's puncture 97 00:06:29,640 --> 00:06:32,640 Speaker 1: resistant features were their main selling point, but not their 98 00:06:32,680 --> 00:06:36,200 Speaker 1: only one. Another benefit to Tubeliss tires was that they 99 00:06:36,240 --> 00:06:40,760 Speaker 1: helped reduce a vehicle's weight, which in turn improved its mileage. 100 00:06:40,920 --> 00:06:43,840 Speaker 1: That was an especially big deal at the time, as 101 00:06:43,920 --> 00:06:47,640 Speaker 1: post war construction in the industrial boom had caused oil 102 00:06:47,720 --> 00:06:51,359 Speaker 1: prices to skyrocket. For the average American, a set of 103 00:06:51,400 --> 00:06:54,640 Speaker 1: tires that prevented blowouts and saved you money at the 104 00:06:54,680 --> 00:06:58,040 Speaker 1: pump was pretty much a dream come true. Those two 105 00:06:58,120 --> 00:07:02,240 Speaker 1: factors spurred the rapid adoption of Tubeliss tires, so much 106 00:07:02,279 --> 00:07:05,240 Speaker 1: so that by nineteen fifty five they came standard on 107 00:07:05,320 --> 00:07:09,520 Speaker 1: the vast majority of new American cars. Not to be outdone, 108 00:07:09,960 --> 00:07:13,440 Speaker 1: Michelin introduced its own take on the Tubeliss tire a 109 00:07:13,440 --> 00:07:17,040 Speaker 1: few years later. It was called the radial Ply tire 110 00:07:17,240 --> 00:07:21,360 Speaker 1: after its key design feature, tire walls that were reinforced 111 00:07:21,400 --> 00:07:25,600 Speaker 1: by a series of alternating layers or piles of tough 112 00:07:25,720 --> 00:07:31,120 Speaker 1: rubber cord. That Tubeliss model quickly supplanted earlier versions, and 113 00:07:31,200 --> 00:07:35,840 Speaker 1: to this day it remains the standard for automobiles worldwide. 114 00:07:35,880 --> 00:07:40,280 Speaker 1: That said, the evolution of tires is still ongoing, and 115 00:07:40,360 --> 00:07:44,080 Speaker 1: in recent years several large companies have started developing so 116 00:07:44,160 --> 00:07:48,520 Speaker 1: called airless tires. Instead of relying on high pressure air 117 00:07:48,680 --> 00:07:51,800 Speaker 1: to support a car's weight and absorb shock from the road, 118 00:07:52,240 --> 00:07:56,600 Speaker 1: these non pneumatic tires would achieve the same thing using 119 00:07:56,640 --> 00:08:00,800 Speaker 1: a structure of polyurethane spokes stretched ala along the inner 120 00:08:00,920 --> 00:08:03,880 Speaker 1: sides of the tire. They kind of look like the 121 00:08:03,920 --> 00:08:07,720 Speaker 1: protective guard of a household fan, except you know, as 122 00:08:07,800 --> 00:08:11,600 Speaker 1: wide as a car tire and presumably much stronger. To 123 00:08:11,640 --> 00:08:14,720 Speaker 1: be clear, though the spokes of an airless tire would 124 00:08:14,800 --> 00:08:17,120 Speaker 1: never come in contact with the surface of a road, 125 00:08:17,400 --> 00:08:20,000 Speaker 1: there would still be a ring of rubber tread surrounding 126 00:08:20,040 --> 00:08:23,200 Speaker 1: the structure, and in that way, the design kind of 127 00:08:23,240 --> 00:08:26,440 Speaker 1: harkens back to the original tires of the thirteen hundreds, 128 00:08:26,800 --> 00:08:30,400 Speaker 1: the wagon wheels covered in leather. It's a little strange 129 00:08:30,480 --> 00:08:33,760 Speaker 1: to see a technical innovation go full circle, but since 130 00:08:33,800 --> 00:08:39,560 Speaker 1: we are talking about tires, I guess it's fitt I'm 131 00:08:39,559 --> 00:08:43,080 Speaker 1: Gabe Lucy, and hopefully you now know a little more 132 00:08:43,080 --> 00:08:47,240 Speaker 1: about history today than you did yesterday. If you enjoyed 133 00:08:47,240 --> 00:08:51,199 Speaker 1: today's show, consider following us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram 134 00:08:51,440 --> 00:08:55,680 Speaker 1: at TDI HC Show. You can also rate and review 135 00:08:55,720 --> 00:08:58,400 Speaker 1: the show on Apple Podcast, or you can send your 136 00:08:58,400 --> 00:09:03,520 Speaker 1: feedback directly by right to this Day at iHeartMedia dot com. 137 00:09:03,559 --> 00:09:06,560 Speaker 1: Thanks to Chandler Maze and Ben Hackett for producing the show, 138 00:09:06,800 --> 00:09:09,320 Speaker 1: and thanks to you for listening. I'll see you back 139 00:09:09,320 --> 00:09:13,079 Speaker 1: here again tomorrow for another day in History class.