(Roughly) Daily

Pakistan has a long history of decorous rides.  In the time of the Raj, craftsmen built beautiful– and beautifully-decorated– carriages for the gentry.  As motorized transport came onto the scene, in the 1920s, bus operators hired local artists to decorate their coaches in the hope of attracting more passengers.  Then, as long-distance trucking waxed, drivers had their rides painted to remind them of home… until today, when the practice of pimping one’s ride has taken hold with arresting effect.

See many more beauteous buses, terrific trucks, and other comely conveyance at Damn Cool Pictures. [TotH to Presurfer]

As we reconsider those flame decals, we might recall that it was on this date in 1933 that a group of geologists from Standard Oil landed in Saudi Arabia to begin planning the extraction of the petroleum that had been discovered there.

With the discovery of a massive oil field at Ghawar, Saudi King Abdel Aziz had granted the Standard Oil Company of California a concession to “explore and search for and drill and extract and manufacture and transport” petroleum and “kindred bituminous matter” in the country’s vast Eastern Province; in turn, Standard Oil immediately dispatched the team of scientists to locate the most profitable spot for the company to begin its drilling.

The partnership between Abdel Aziz’s government and Standard Oil became known as the Arabian American Oil Company (Aramco).   Aramaco later admitted other oil companies; and as the vast quantity of oil in Saudi Arabia became clear, began to share profits with the Saudi government.  Ultimately, the Saudis, founding members of OPEC, took full control of Aramco.

Geologists headed inland (on unpainted camels)  source