Storm oil is described as nearly water-insoluble oil acting as a surfactant, and has been used since ancient times to smooth ocean waves. It has been historically employed to facilitate sea rescues and improve navigational safety, involving pouring the oil onto the ocean surface to reduce wave intensity. The nearly immiscible spilled oil acts as a surfactant, accumulating on the surface, and as waves locally stretch or compress, it leads to a concentration gradient inducing tangential shear forces leading to extra dissipation and damping. The phenomena were later discovered and scientifically explored by figures such as Benjamin Franklin, Lord Rayleigh, and Agnes Pockels, collectively deepening the scientific knowledge of surface tension and wave dynamics.

William Brownrigg was a British doctor and scientist, who practised at Whitehaven in Cumberland. While there, Brownrigg carried out experiments that earned him the Copley Medal in 1766 for his work on carbonic acid gas. He was the first person to recognise platinum as a new element.