chutzpah

When I was growing up, my father kept one can of WD-40 in the house and another in his car. It seemed it was the be-all and end-all for almost every mechanical problem. But what is WD-40? It literally stands for Water Displacement 40th attempt.

In 1953, chemist Norm Larsen was attempting to concoct a formula to prevent corrosion—a task…