Any colour – if it’s black
QUESTION Why were all Model T Fords black for more than a decade?
MODEL T Fords were available only in black between 1914 and 1925 because this was cheaper and more efficient.
Henry Ford described this policy in his 1922 book My Life And Work: ‘Any customer can have a car painted any colour he wants — so long as it is black.’
In fact, the first Model T that rolled off the assembly line in Detroit, Michigan, in 1908 was red. The vehicles were available in grey, green, blue and black.
Deciding to opt for one colour was part of the policy to keep the price low enough that anyone who made a reasonable living could afford a car.
It is widely held that Ford opted to use only black because it dried faster than other paint colours. There is little evidence for this.
In fact, painting every component of the Model T black streamlined production, making the process cheaper and enhancing quality control by making it easier to touch up scratches and imperfections. It also eliminated the need for retooling to accommodate different colours.
Before the Model T, cars were a luxury. At the beginning of 1908, there were fewer than 200,000 vehicles on the road. Between 1908 and 1927, Ford built 15 million Model Ts.
Cliff Latham, Kenilworth, Warwickshire.
QUESTION Is it true that an American newsreader once killer herself on live television?
THIS is the tragic case of Christine Chubbuck, who took her own life on live TV in 1974, aged 29.
Chubbuck was working for the Florida-based station WXLT-TV at the time, and was said to have been anguished at her inability to develop romantic relationships. News director Gordon Galbraith later recalled that ‘she was 29 years old and she had no problem admitting she was a virgin’.
Her brother Greg said his sister struggled with bipolar disorder, and that their parents spent nearly $1million over 20 years on treatments to ‘help Chrissie find peace’. She was highly respected by her colleagues, but Greg said that, despite this, ‘she never felt like she was good enough and she was constantly doubting herself’.
The tragedy unfolded on the morning of July 15, 1974. During a live newscast, Chubbuck told viewers: ‘In keeping with Channel 40’s policy of bringing you the latest in blood and guts and in living colour, you are going to see another first: an attempted suicide.’ She then produced a revolver and shot herself behind her right ear. The technical crew rapidly faded to black, but many viewers had seen the incident.
Chubbuck died around 15 hours later in hospital. Chillingly, she had left a pre-written, thirdperson script describing her own suicide, to be read by whoever took over as newsreader.
Paul McCarthy, Co. Meath.
QUESTION After whom was the Commonwealth Games’s Alexander Stadium in Birmingham, England, named?
THE stadium is named after William Whiteway Alexander, who established the local Birchfield Harriers as one of the premier athletics clubs in the country.
A postman and fine crosscountry runner, Alexander joined Birchfield in 1879, three years after the club’s foundation. He finished fourth in the 1881 English crosscountry championships after he did his morning postal round.
In 1882, Alexander became club secretary and gave up competitive running to manage the club.
In 1922, he established the Birchfield Harriers ladies’ section. His son, also named W.W. Alexander, was coach.
By the time Alexander died in 1933, Birchfield Harriers was Britain’s top athletics club.
Of the 49 cross-country championships held between 1886 and 1939, it won 27.
The original Alexander Stadium opened in 1976, replacing Birchfield Harriers’ former home at Alexander Sports Ground.
Work on the new stadium began in 2019.
Tina Lewis, Worcester.
QUESTION Has a musician ever been denied access to their own concert?
THE previous answers reminded me of the 2003 incident when Bruce Springsteen was playing the inaugural concert at Leeds Arena.
The brand-new venue had not sorted out its parking and Springsteen’s buses and rigging vans were forced to park on a side street near the stadium.
An over-zealous parking official duly slapped parking tickets on them. After considering the special circumstances, the tickets were eventually cancelled. Will Allison, Wakefield, West Yorkshire.
QUESTION Has any British prime minister, who has resigned, gone on to serve in a new administration?
SINCE the 18th century, 14 British prime ministers have returned to serve in later governments, with some holding senior positions.
Alec Douglas-Home, who served 363 days as prime minister in 1963 to 1964 following the resignation of Harold Macmillan, went on to be foreign secretary under Edward Heath between 1970 and 1974.
Arthur Balfour was prime minister from 1902 to 1905, and went on to serve as a Cabinet minister for 11 years under three leaders. As foreign secretary in the Lloyd George cabinet, he issued the Balfour Declaration in 1917 in support of a national home for the Jewish people in Palestine.
Arthur Wellesley, the Dublinborn Duke of Wellington, served twice as prime minister from 1828 to 1834. In his successor Robert Peel’s first cabinet, Wellington was foreign secretary – in the second he was minister without portfolio. He was made commander-in-chief of the British army in 1842.
Joanna Bryant, Chipping Norton, Oxon.