Bob Sorokanich of Jalopnik introduces is to the very cool body of work of Jam Handy
How does a car’s differential work? You probably have a vague understanding. Some stuff spins, some stuff doesn’t, and somehow, the result allows your car to drive around a curve without shredding its tires or chewing up its own guts. There are gears and other gears, and it’s basically magic. That was the extent of my own understanding, until I found this vintage educational film from 1937. It’s still the best, simplest, most immediately understandable explanation of how a differential works I’ve ever found....Our instructor in this lesson is Henry Jamison “Jam” Handy, a fascinating character [You should check him out -- MP] who spent much of his career making educational films like this. Most of the time, they were cleverly-disguised advertisements — most of Handy’s automotive films were done at the behest of General Motors, while others were sponsored by Standard Oil. Regardless of the topic, a Jam Handy film starts with a simple question of “how does X work,” and answers it with clear, clever, immediately understandable visual aids. Typically, the last minute of the film is where it becomes an advertisement — for example, hyping the latest technological advancement you’ll find at your friendly neighborhood Chevrolet dealer. But everything leading up to that brief sales pitch is general-interest, brand-agnostic knowledge that’s absolutely fascinating for car enthusiasts or anyone with a curious mind.
One cool piece of trivia, before the development of the differential, early cars got around the problem of the wheels spinning at different speed by using a one-wheel drive.
Around The Corner - How Differential Steering Works
Spinning Levers
As the Wheels Turn
Living Stereo
Another bit of historical trivia related to this next film, Edison actually made a serious attempt to make a helicopter powered by guncotton.
Something for Nothing
Since we have Mr. Goldberg here...
And circling back around to cars.
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