from the archives
Remember Cow Magnets? This classic issue of Tech Times takes us back to the early ’80s when consumers were feeling the pinch of high prices at the pump. (Sounds familiar, doesn’t it?) Rumor had it that a farmer in Oregon increased his vehicle’s gas mileage by 3 to 5 miles per gallon by putting a cow magnet (a magnet put in a cow’s stomach to reduce the risk of hardware disease) near the carburetor. The news spread and the fad caught on—”cow magnet madness” swept through the Midwest. Determined to find the truth, Indiana Tech’s Professor of Engineering Robert Marshall began an investigation into whether the cow magnets had any effect on gas mileage. The study began in the fall of 1980 gaining the interest of Fort Wayne’s
newschannel 33, as reported by the issue of Tech Times pictured here. Five months later, the March issue of Tech Times reported the results of Professor Marshall’s tests. What did he find? No gains in gas mileage at all. In fact, in some tests mileage was actually lower with a cow magnet. Marshall suggested that if anyone saw improved fuel economy with a cow magnet it was because they “were subconsciously driving more conservatively.” The lesson from all this? No gimmicks will improve your gas mileage. Marshall’s observations were true then and now—the best way to get better gas mileage is to avoid heavy acceleration and slow down.
TRENDS Summer 2007 19