Thousands of years ago humans discovered a black yellowish liquid that came from the ground and could burn when it was set on fire.

Today, that fluid that seeped from the rocks is responsible for much of our modern world.

But how does that fluid become a usable fuel? is responsible for much of our modern world.

But how does that fluid become a usable fuel,

and how exactly do you get it out of the rocks?

Learn more about petroleum, aka crude oil,

and how it gets from the ground to your vehicle on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily. Even though the use and harnessing of petroleum is relatively modern, knowledge of petroleum is actually quite ancient.

The word petroleum is derived from the Latin words Petra, which means rock, and oleum which means oil.

So petroleum literally means rock oil.

The word was coined in 1546 by the German geologist Giorg Bauer.

Today, petroleum is synonymous with the term crude oil.

They both refer to the liquid substance that is pumped directly from the ground.

The substance we know as petroleum has been around for at least 6,000 years and probably well

before that whenever humans found it near the surface.

There were ancient Greek texts which told of petroleum being used in the construction of the hanging gardens of Babylon.

Ancient Persian texts spoke of the use of petroleum for lighting lamps by the upper levels of society.

Pools of petroleum were reported on the surface in various places in the Middle East.

Petroleum was documented being used as a fuel in the early 1st century

BC in China and the first oil well was built using bamboo in the year

347. Native people in what is today Western Pennsylvania were using petroleum in their religious ceremonies and as a healing lotion in the early 15th century.

In the Middle Ages, Islamic scientists conducted experiments on this fluid and they were the first people to discover the secrets of petroleum distillation.

Marco Polo noted the production of petroleum in China such that it could fill hundreds of ships.

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