I stumbled across this slide show on the Readers Digest web site. It appears to make WD40 seem a lot better than it is but some of the ideas could be useful. One is to spray it on fish lures to attract fish. My dad did that and there was no doubt that he could catch fish in a plastic bucket. I don't know if it was the WD40 or just his skill.

I have a hard time believing that it's effective for waterproofing boots, though.

WD40

I know from personal experience it will get a fly strip and glue detached from your head when nothing else in the house would.

I'd never considered using a fly strip for a headband. Does it keep head cooties from migrating downward?

WD-40 is made from fish oil.
I used it on everything, even my ex wife.

JD338

My bug out bag would contain a ...

Colt 1911

Buck Knife

Vice-Grip

Can of WD-40

A shot of it in a trailer light plug will really help the contacts. A lot of truckers carry it just for that. It's also very good on the base of light bulbs for better contact, especially on vehicles that get dirty and wet.

Chalky looking paint on metal, like an old car or lawn mower, shines up like brand new.

Cologne

it has heavy naphtha.

I mention this because one email says it is non toxic and safe to take internally.
It also has mineral oil. It was develope to displace moisture on rockets and was used on the paper thin stainless steel fuel tanks of rockets. Those tanks were so thin they had to be pressured up with a gas to keep them from collapsing if not filled with fuel.

I read that the name stands for Water Displacement #40. It was the 40th and final version that they tried during it's development.

I've also read that it's non-toxic to humans. The Readers Digest article makes it sound like it's going to kill all life.

I spray cockroaches with it. They crawl away and die.

Very effective as a wasp spray. Kills 'em dead.

There is absolutely NO fish oil in WD-40. Even the company has no idea where that silly urban legend came from.

It is a very good water displacer (well, duh). It is a very good glue, road tar, and insect splatter remover. It is a fairly good penetrant. It is a fairly good rust preventative. It is not a very good lube. It "dries" to a sticky gum that attracts and holds dusty grit. That makes it poor for gun use.

IIRC, the label states it has petroleum products. I'll pass on using it to shine plates.

its has Whale oil in it, A Whale is NOT a fish.

Hubert, I know you're joking, and YOU know you're joking, but forty-leven zillion internet idjuts are now spreading the rumor that WD-40 has whale oil in it. By now, there's probably a chanting crowd of incensed greeny crazies picketing the WD-40 headquarters with "Save the Whales" placards.

Geez...

Someone here posted that they used to spray it on their knees everyday and it seemed to help knee pain. cannot confirm though.

I saw a website that called it a fix for rheumatism. Hmmm.

Might be that one of the solvent in it is DMSO? DMSO is a known therapy for treating joint problems in equines.

It is a solvent and "carrier" that will take anything dissolved with it directly through the skin barrier and into the bloodstream.

Old guys will remember the book "The Electric Kool Aid Acid Test" where the geniuses painted the doorknobs and stair rails with a mixture of LSD and DMSO.

It's also used as a "cutting agent" for meth dealers to stretch the amount of their products.

Ed

There must be a website of WD40 legends but the best I ever heard was from several variously authoritative types on rec.guns - for those of you that may remember where this nonsense started.

The story was that if you sprayed it on your Ruger revolver, the barrel would fall off. In fact, if you were stupid enough to spray it on your trapdoor bayonet, it too would snap off if you so much as tapped your buttstock on the ground.

Oh, we have come so far from rec.guns, now we have 24hrcampfire cognoscenti that think trees grow from from their roots.

Same song, another verse, eh?

Spray it on lures and even smelt when ice fishing works as an attractant

I've used it for years to spray on my dogs - best flea killer ever invented. Take your dog out into the back yard, spray it on their coat rub it in a little and stand back. By the time your done rubbing it in you'll be seeing fleas on top of your dogs coat. Thats about as far as they get before they fall over dead. Oh, your dog will be doing the heebie jeebie running around and rolling around in the grass trying to get the fleas off. Also makes your dogs coat nice and shiny. Try it, you'll never buy another flea powder.