Gee I was gonna say porta pottie and field telephone. I'll stick to stuff I know from now on

:rotf::rotf::rotf:

Wheels were made of wood and the axle also, the pitch/grease mixture was a lubricant

I understand that the wheels and axle were made of wood, but it seems to me that the application of grease would still slick things up a bit. Under the carriage of a field piece (cannon) there hung a grease bucket which they used to grease the axle, also made of wood. I think they'd do the same on a wooden axle of a wagon. When I worked on a farm in the early 60s we greased ever baring on the tractor and the plow. I suspect that habbit started before barings.