Russian oil

When Russia Conquered the World with White Oil

Russia was the first source of white oil, a Vaseline-like mix of hydrocarbons used in pharmaceutical, cosmetics, and plastics.
Natural tar seeps at the McKittrick Oil Field By Lldenke (Own work) [CC BY 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

When Petroleum Was Used As Medicine

We look at the discovery of petroleum, both linguistically and practically.