WD-40 is the trademark of a widely-used penetrating oil ( cleaner , lubricant and anti- corrosive solution) developed in 1953 by Norm Larsen , then working for the Rocket Chemical Company. It stands for " Water Displacement, 40th attempt", but it is not technically an acronym, as the letters of the abbreviation do not spell out a word in conventional English orthography. The product was first on store shelves in 1958.In 1961, the Rocket Chemical Company renamed itself after WD-40 - then its only product. The WD-40 company still has its corporate offices in San Diego, California. It now markets its products in more than 160 countries around the globe. In 2003, it recorded sales of $238.1 million. The company went public in 1963. Its NASDAQ stock symbol is WDFC.
WD-40 literally stands for Water Displacement, 40th attempt. That's the name straight out of the lab book used by the chemist who developed WD-40 back in 1953. The chemist, Norm Larsen, was attempting to concoct a formula to prevent corrosion -- a task which is done by displacing water. Norm's persistence paid off when he perfected the formula on his 40th try. (WD-40 Web site)
At one time there was for sale in Mexico a knock-off called "WB-50" whose name apparently had no meaning other than to mark it as an alternative to WD-40.
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