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The four Goldberg brothers Lowell, Norman, Hiram and Max invented the first automobile air conditioner.
On July 17, 1946, the temperature in Detroit was 97 degrees. The four brothers walked into old man Henry Ford's office and sweet-talked his secretary into telling him that four gentlemen were there with the most exciting innovation in the auto industry since the electric starter. Henry was curious, so he invited them into his office. They refused, insisting that he instead come to their car out in the parking lot.
They persuaded him to get into the car, which was about 130 degrees inside. They turned on the air conditioner, which cooled off the car immediately. Old man Ford got very excited and invited them back to the office, where he offered them $3 million for the patent. The brothers refused, saying they would settle for $2 million, but that they wanted recognition by having a label, The Goldberg Air-Conditioner, displayed on the dashboard of each car in which it was installed.
Now Henry Ford was more than just a little anti-Semitic. There was no way he was going to put the Goldbergs' name on two million Fords! They haggled back and forth for about two hours, finally agreeing on $4 million and that just their first names would be shown.
And so to this day, all Ford air conditioners show Lo, Norm, Hi and Max on the controls.
Now you know.
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