OK, so it's been raining in Houston a lot lately, and I have been stuck inside. I've been going through my collection of oilfield history and memorabilia. And it has been fruitful, from my prospective.
A lot of curious gizmos and technologies have been invented for the oil field. Some have worked. Most have not, at least in their initial applications. But the Rube Goldberg aspect of it all is fun. So here is my proposition for you, the customers. Below is a picture of a cannon. No, I am not in the picture, as some of the editors speculated. It was used in the oil field. My question to you is what is it (a 19th century breech loading cannon, of course - they will not all be this easy), and what was it used for? These are not idle questions. In fact, they may be worth a prize.
We are starting a little monthly contest, for your amusement and ours. But more than that, it should be educational and reacquaint you, and us, with the complexities and innovations of oilfield technology. The contest will unwind thusly. Say you choose to speculate on what the cannon is and what it was used for. If you know, or want to guess, just send us an e-mail or fax with your answers, wpike@chemweek.com or 713-840-0923. Thirty days after the magazine's mailing date, we will draw one entry from the pool of correct entries and send you our thanks and a brand spanking new, never-before-worn Hart's E&P golf shirt. We also will acknowledge your winning acumen in the magazine.
Just to help the process get started, here are a few clues. The cannon was surplus, obtained as a makeshift solution. It was used - only once, I believe - in the oil fields of Kansas, around the 1920s-1930s. It probably was used nowhere else. Best of luck.

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