Thomas Edison and Ben Franklin get the credit for the development of the light bulb and discovery of electricity. But what about before that?

Humans began using whale oil extensively for lighting lamps and lanterns in the 1690s. The era of commercial shore whaling expanded and made the resource plentiful and cheap becoming a primary fuel source in the 1700s. By the mid-1800s kerosene had begun to offer a cleaner, much cheaper alternative. Whale oil went into decline by the 1870s.

Interestingly, history credits the availability of whale oil for the expansion of women in the workplace. The oil kept the lights on later so that women could work all day and still work more at night by lamplight.

Whalers hunted sperm whales, right whales and bowhead whales primarily. The flame from whale oil produced a steady, clear flame.

But there’s no option today to use whale oil. The International Whaling Commission banned commercial whaling in 1986. And the U.S. Endangered Species Act banned sperm whale oil imports and sales in 1973.