that date back over 110 years,
one
that seems to keep appearing in a few programs is the Michelin Man, or Bibendum, as he was formally known, a moniker he gained from an
appropriated artwork, it’s a Latin word for the act of drinking, which seems
weird now, but his creators apparently did not know Latin, Bibendum was quite an odd
character 110 years ago, many of the posters from the early 20th-century depict
him as a somewhat sinister figure, large and bespectacled and chomping
permanently on a cigar, initially he was shown drinking champagne, which linked
to the Latinate toast, and this was reinforced by a strangely worded tagline
that had been first mentioned in 1893: "À Votre Santé Le Pneu Michelin
Boit L’Obstacle!" (The Michelin tire drinks up obstacles!), the poster
apparently led to the character being known for a while as the "road
drunkard," an image that would be abhorrent to any car-related company
today, but the Michelin Man learned to change with the times, not only did he
sober up, he became less obviously wealthy, notice the fat cat look in the 1914
poster above, Michelin Man is now 116 years old and is possibly one of the oldest company trademarks,
we watched a episode of American restoration, where Rick has to renovate a Michelin Man air compressor,
and as normal Rick and the crew turned the non-working pump into a fully operational piece of art, a great show, if you have not watched it before give it a try, we both enjoy seeing the before and after look at pieces that are brought into Rick's workshop for restoration.
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