• On Aug. 11, 1806, while hunting for elk along the Missouri River, Meriwether Lewis was accidentally shot by one of his own men, likely Private Pierre Cruzatte, though Cruzatte, who was blind in one eye and nearsighted in the other, denied it. Historians suspect he mistook the leather- clad Lewis for an elk. Lewis made a full recovery.
• On Aug. 13, 1941, Henry Ford displayed his “Soybean Car,” the plastic body of which was partially composed of the legumes. It weighed half as much as a steel-bodied car and Ford claimed it was safer, but the model never actually went into production.
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