8 Unbelievable Fun Facts About Henry Ford: Discover the Man Behind the Model T

1. Fashion Disaster Ford

Henry Ford, the original fashion disaster: a man who could have taught fashion moguls the world over about humility, instead chose simplicity and drove a Model T even after accumulating vast wealth, sporting the most unremarkable wardrobe, and making modesty vogue before it was even a thing.
Source => en.wikipedia.org

2. Racecar Henry

Before racecars knew they needed a quarter-mile, way back when horsepower needed hay, Henry Ford was burning rubber and smoking the competition on his stomping grounds: Ford's passion for speed culminated in his own racing team, the Ford Racing Association, and a racetrack at his Dearborn estate, where he tested and refined his vehicles alongside friends and family.
Source => famousscientists.org

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3. Mad Max: Detroit Edition

When you hear of a gas-fueled gearhead, cobbled together with leather, angle iron, and chains, you'd think it was a Mad Max: Detroit Edition: In reality, Henry Ford built his first automobile, the Quadricycle, using these materials while collaborating with his Edison Illuminating Company coworkers. The steampunk-style shed behind his rented house, where it all began, later became a symbol of Ford's success and was reconstructed in Greenfield Village.
Source => thehenryford.org

4. Glamping with Edison

Ever heard of Glamping with Edison? Eureka, there's a tale in store: Henry Ford admired Thomas Edison so much that they often went camping together along with luminaries like Luther Burbank. During one such trip, they found themselves stuck in mud and were rescued by a farmer with a trusty Model-T who, upon meeting Burbank, had no clue who the famous botanist was, prompting Ford to quip, "and who is he, Santa Claus?"
Source => atlasobscura.com

5. More Sleep, More Leisure

Never mind the proverbial early bird: Henry Ford lured the diligent workers with the irresistible promise of more sleep and leisure time. In his never-ending quest for innovation, he made the hours in the daily grind count for more than just toiling away: By championing the eight-hour workday, Ford standardized it across the industry and greatly improved working conditions for all those who would clock in and out each day.
Source => rockinrobinsramblings.blogspot.com

6. Doubling Wages

Talk about putting the pedal to the metal on employee satisfaction: In 1914, Henry Ford doubled the industry-average wages to $5 per day, ultimately revolutionizing the auto and U.S. industrial sectors, and skyrocketing his net worth to over $68 billion in 2018 dollars.
Source => yahoo.com

7. IKEA Cars Revolution

Before Henry Ford came along, assembling a car was like putting together IKEA furniture without the instructions – slow, painstaking, and with a lot of head-scratching: Our man Ford sped things up with his game-changing assembly line, making car-making quicker, cheaper, and boosting the Michelin man's popularity like never before.
Source => detroitpizzadepot.com

8. Ford the Matchmaker

Henry Ford could have had a booming career as a matchmaker, uniting blacks and whites long before 'swipe right' was even a thing: He hired over 8,000 Black workers during the Great Migration and paid equal wages to everyone, regardless of race, while also providing essential social welfare services in predominantly Black communities during the Great Depression.
Source => thehenryford.org