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 Peanut Products
Before Carver, there was no market for peanuts—farmers fed them to the hogs. But Carver believed that God had a greater plan for “goobers.” So he went to his lab to unravel the “mystery of the peanut.”
He boiled up hundreds of possibilities—from wall-board to Worcester sauce, paving the way for revolutionary change in Southern agriculture. But contrary to popular lore, Carver did not invent peanut butter—it had been around for many years.
Curative Powers of Peanut Oil
Convinced of the restorative nature of peanut oil, Carver began testing it on polio victims—with great success. When word got out, Carver was swamped with requests for treatment.
In the 1930s he dedicated weekends to peanut oil massages. His success was likely due to his warm and personal demeanor—and his massage technique, a skill he perfected as a “rubber” for the Iowa State football team—rather than any special quality in the oil.
 Carver’s Peanut Products
A few of Carver’s products were patented, and a company was formed to produce one of them, a peanut-based medicine for respiratory ailments called Penol. For various reasons, the product never took off. Even if it had, Carver would likely have measured its success in public good rather than dollars and cents.
“If I know the answer, you can have it for the price of a postage stamp,” wrote Carver in response to a request for help with a peanut problem. Carver’s unpaid consulting for the peanut industry helped it to become the multi-million dollar industry that it is today.
Continue to Chemurgy. >>
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