Yesterday I learned that Dr. Karl Clark (arguably the father of Alberta's oilsands industry) became so almost by accident. In the 1920's Alberta's road system was virtually non existent and the number of automobiles was growing rapidly. He was hired to look for a solution to hard surface our roads which were at the time build from local material (ie bentonite rich which is massively slippery when wet). He experimented with oilsands in hopes of mixing it with the other road materials for something that might hold together and was water resistant. It was during this time he discovered he could separate the bitumen from the sand and his interest pivoted. The rest is history.
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