The Car That Was Full of Beans (Literally!)

On August 13, 1941, legendary automaker Henry Ford decided that steel was so last year and unveiled his latest masterpiece: the Soybean Car Today in History: August 13.

This wasn't just a car with a veggie-themed air freshener. The entire body was made of a specialized plastic derived from soybeans, wheat, hemp, and flax. Ford was so obsessed with the project that he famously took an axe to a prototype panel to prove it wouldn't dent, demonstrating that his 'legume-mobile' was tougher than traditional metal.

While the car was 25% lighter than steel and supposedly safer, the project eventually stalled due to the onset of World War II. Imagine a world where a fender-bender resulted in a side of tofu! It remains one of history's most bizarre attempts to turn the agricultural sector into the automotive sector. Talk about a 'green' machine!