How oil-rig sludge became Vaseline

A closer look

People have been aggressively smearing literal industrial waste on their dry lips for over a century. A chemist visiting an oil rig in 1859 noticed workers complaining about a highly annoying, thick black sludge that constantly jammed their heavy drilling machinery. The workers, however, also noted it magically healed their cuts. The chemist violently purified the black sludge into a clear jelly, patented it, and sparked a cosmetic empire.