'Otomatic': How this revolutionary age of technological innovation was announced in 1931

In 1931, when the emergence of an automatic transportation system was first introduced in the Gold Coast (Ghana), as well as in West Africa, the spelling of the technological advancement was corrupted slightly as ‘Otomatic.’

A newspaper clipping from the West Africa Times, of 1931, and in GhanaWeb's possession, provided an explanation to what this new ‘Otomatic’ drive was all about, and why it was a dawn of a new and easier way for the transportation industry.

Additionally, the introduction of this ‘Otomatic’ system meant that transport owners were to experience a boom in their way of operation.

Read how the newspaper communicated this, under the headline, What is Otomatic?

We have been running an advertisement in our paper dealing with an entirely new invention introduced by the premier Motor Engineering Firm in the Colony – Messrs W. Bartholomew and Company.

The invention is for the benefit of the motoring public in general and the African transport owner in particular and goes under the name of what appears in the “advert” namely, OTOMATIC.

Now then, from the enquiries that we have received, it appears that the local public have not yet grasped the real essentials of OTOMATIC and what it actually is and means and the multifarious benefits that are to be derived from this epoc-making “find” – which is really a boon to the transport owner.

It is, indeed, a Titan for keeping down costs, which means greater profits, efficiency, and a saving in time and energy. The OTOMATIC service in itself is a sort of insurance. When a person becomes a member by paying a small fee according to the size of tyre used on his vehicle, the while four tyres are thoroughly examined by an expert and then treated with a certain patent scientific preparation which makes punctures absolutely impossible under any condition.

In other words, a tyre treated with OTOMATIC never has to be abandoned through numerous punctures and patches having made it unserviceable, but they “simply fade away” – wear themselves out. We can safely vouch for the truth of this prodigious claim, because a few weeks ago, we had the pleasure of a demonstration that is simply marvellous.

A car fitted with OTOMATIC was driven over an area spiked with nails; to verify that the tyres were punctured, we were asked to approach the car and listen in. We did so and heard the squeak as the air for the inflated tyres rushed out. The car was again started in motion and driven on a few yards; on its return to the starting point, we were absolutely astonished to observe that the escape of air no more issued from the punctures which had absolutely repaired themselves by the aid of the revolutions produced by the ‘motion of the car.’

This seems quite incredible, but it is perfectly true. We have also witnessed a tyre with a nasty burst in the side, treated with another sort of OTOMATIC patent gum applied through an instrument like a grease gun. That tyre has since put up over two thousand miles!

To a certain degree, OTOMATIC has certainly revolutionalised anything of its kind, past or present, and comes as a blessing of the age in view of the scarcity of money. The great drawback today with transport is due to the enormous amount of money that has to be expended on tyres and tubes.



AE/OGB