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Pumping Gas

September 6, 2012

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Profile America -- Thursday, September 6th. A device that most of us interact with every few days was first unveiled this week in 1905 -- the gas pump. Sylvanus Bowser of Fort Wayne, Indiana made the pump for a customer, basing it on an earlier design for pumping kerosene. As the number of cars increased dramatically, the pumps became very popular. Eventually, his name became a generic term for a fuel dispenser, and gas pumps in New Zealand and Australia are still called "Bowsers." Across the U.S., there are nearly 129,000 gas stations. Each year, the pumps at these stations dispense more than 168 billion gallons of gasoline. You can find more facts about America from the U.S. Census Bureau, online at <www.census.gov>.

Sources: Kane's Famous First Facts, 4410
Today in Science history
Statistical Abstract of the United States 2012, t. 1102
http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/2012edition.html
2007 Economic Census, NAICS 447
http://www.census.gov/econ/industry/hierarchy/i447.htm