5 Things You Didn't Know About Michelin

It later came to light that repaving the oval portion of the course was part of the issue, and Bridgestone had an edge because it had been to the track before with its Firestone brand that supplied two Indy Racing League series. This data and the solutions developed for IndyCar teams are said to have helped Bridgestone understand what sorts of loads to expect while Michelin was shooting in the dark.

Michelin advised its teams to slow down through Turn 13 but also said its tires would still only be safe for 10 laps. The race was scheduled for 73...

Michelin then tried lobbying the FIA to add a chicane. Not only would his have been unfair to Bridgestone teams that suffered in low-speed corners, but it would also have been a safety hazard for the drivers to quickly relearn the track with little to no practice.

Michelin's customers all elected not to race, leaving viewers with the sad sight of just six cars lining up on the grid. Later, it came to light that these teams could have been exposed to criminal liability had they participated. Regardless, Michelin's reputation was torn to shreds in full view of the appalled American public.

Nowadays, the tires degrade by design, andMichelin wants no part of that.

Let's go back to 1829, when the Scottish Elisabeth Pugh-Barker, niece of the chemist who discovered rubber was soluble in benzine (Charles Macintosh), married French entrepreneur Edouard Daubree of Auvergne. She started making bouncing rubber balls in her husband's workshop, just like her uncle used to do for her, and this brought rubber to the city of Clermont-Ferrand.

Later, Edouard Daubree partnered with his cousin, Aristide Barbier, to start a farm machinery business, for which Daubree was in charge of production. The quality of rubber hoses, valves, fittings, joints, and other components helped spread the pair's name. They expanded their business, but both founders died in 1863 and 1864, leading to financial difficulties for the company.

Barbier's daughter Adele, who was married to a man named Jules Michelin, believed rubber could become profitable, but she needed help. Her sons Andre and Edouard joined her (pictured below), with the latter taking control of the company. At this point, the company was renamedMichelin & Cie(Michelin & Company).

Shortly after this, Michelin launched a brake pad for horse-drawn carriages and hackney cabs called "The Silent." Yeah, Michelin made brake pads before it made tires.

Until the accidental death of Edouard Michelin in 2006, a Michelin was always at the top of the company.

The idea for the Michelin Man logo came in 1898 when Andre and Edouard Michelin were looking at a stack of tires and realized that by simply adding arms, a humanoid-like character could be created. French artist and cartoonist Marius Roussillon (professionally known as O'Galop) sketched the original image, which leads us neatly to an obvious question: ifthe Michelin Manwas intended to look like a stack of tires, why is Bibendum (his official name) white? Because tires at the time were either grey-white or had a light translucent hue. In 1912, it was discovered that adding carbon to the rubber formula would both strengthen and preserve the compound, and this changed the color of tires forever.

As for the name Bibendum, this comes from several marketing images of the time that showed the Michelin Man raising a glass with the Latin words "Nunc est Bibendum," meaning "now is the time to drink." What does that mean? Well, the cup was filled with broken glass, nails, horseshoes, and other sharp objects, so Michelin was basically trying to convey that its tires would drink up damage without puncturing easily.

In 2000,The Financial Timesnamed the Michelin Man "Best Logo of the Century," while in 2018, he received the "Millenium Icon Award" at Advertising Week. Considering his story so far, we're sure he has lots more to excel at.

Even if you've never dined at one, you'll have heard of a "Michelin Star" restaurant, the ranking system used in theMichelin Guide. Launched as a free guide in 1900, when there were fewer than 3,000 cars on French roads, the booklet would provide information like maps, tire repair and replacement instructions, and listings for mechanics, hotels, and gas stations throughout France.

一颗星的意思是“一个很好的餐馆in its category," two stars means "excellent cooking, worth a detour," and three stars means "exceptional cuisine, worth a special journey." But why would the Michelin brothers go through the effort of mapping the country if there were so few cars on the road? To encourage their owners to drive further and more often, thereby wearing out their tires faster. It's a genius move, and these days, restaurants, resorts, and even state tourism boards will pay hundreds of thousands of dollars for the honor of being mentioned.

Whether the ranking system is still fair and worth noting is a debate for the gastronomes and gourmands of this world, like those atThe New York Times. But it had more honorable uses, too.

In the spring of 1944, the Allies were preparing to land in Normandy, but the Germans had destroyed all the signposts (incidentally, Michelin was instrumental in bringing road signs to popularity). After discussions with Michelin Paris and plenty of research, the last edition of the Michelin Guide (produced before the War commenced in 1939) was reprinted. Thanks to hundreds of detailed town maps, the Allies were able to push back swiftly and efficiently. But that wasn't Michelin's only contribution to the war effort.

在21天,米其林转换存储内装的g into a 320-bed hospital and provided wounded soldiers with a canteen, a recreational room, a library, concerts, conferences, a cinema, a photo studio, and a sun-drenched terrace. English and American subsidiaries of Michelin also supplied medicines and anti-tetanus serums.

But this contribution was not enough for Michelin.

Michelin also provided grants for the wives and children of drafted employees and large families and even paid pensions to widows and war orphans. Michelin also repurposed factories to build aircraft, giving the first 100 to the French army and selling the rest (over 2,000 in total) at cost price. It created a bombing contest and school to train pilots on their precision, and in Aulnat in 1916, it constructed the world's first solid airport runway so that planes could take off in any weather.

Elsewhere, Michelin would send care packages with cups, tents, sleeping bags, and other durable items for use in the war, along with niceties like wool jerseys, tobacco, and coffee.

Michelin didn't stop considering its obligation to its country after the war either. In 1919, Andre Michelin wrote a manifesto to encourage the creation of a French air force.

Clearly, Michelin & Co. amassed a fortune from rubber innovations, but it was more than happy to spend a large chunk of that wealth to resist Nazi progress and protect its country.

In 1912, Andre Michelin campaigned for roads to be numbered. Again, this was a smart way of encouraging additional driving, but after World War I, he went a step further in 1931, producing distance markers and signs, something the company would continue to do in thousands until the early Seventies.

In 1935, Michelin took control of compatriot Citroen (bet you didn't know that). The car that Pierre Michelin and Pierre Boulanger produced would go on to become the French equivalent of the Beetle: an easy-to-fix, versatile, economical, simple-to-drive car. This was finally launched in 1949 as thefamously reliable Citroen 2CV, a car that was produced in over 5 million units.

In 1891, Michelin produced the world's first detachable bicycle tire, and just four years later came the first air-filled tires for cars. In 1929, it even developed train tires to reduce noise for sleeping passengers, and in 1937 came the first tires made with metal. In 1946, Michelin launched the radial tire. Innovation is in its blood.

So, where does the future lie now? Apparently, in airless tires once again; Michelin is already winning awards forits take on the idea. To the next century and beyond.