The Red Tie

Henry Ford had a knack for creating stories on a whim when asked questions. A prime example of this is "the red tie" yarn.

One morning a reporter asked him about his red tie and it matching his mood of being mad. Henry's response? "That's right. Makes me feel spunky, it matches my temper."

Here again we can take a look at William C. Richards' book "The Last Billionaire" for more information on this. Turns out Richards asked Ford about this one day when Henry Ford was in a good mood AND wearing a red tie. According to William Richards' account-
"He threw himself into a role of an angry man before my eyes. His eyes snapped, he clenched a fist- he slammed out and said he had a few words to say to a fellow, leaving the impression it was going to be rough on the other fellow.
I followed him for a distance to where he couldn't see me unless he turned around. He seemed pleased with himself. Out the door leading to the laboratory he wheeled right and retraced his steps, walked into the corridor and walking into his office, smiling, giving the tie a jaunty pull as he went in. He was apparently trying to make the myth good for my benefit."

Is any of this true? In my opinion, I say yes. Ford was a master showman and always had an eye for free publicity. This is just one of his many things to get that free publicity. Other notable accounts include, stating that George Washington's clock was one second slow, that he was going to make a horn that sounded like a human voice, chicken was fit only for hawks, that he wore mismatched shoes on occasion to remind himself that he was once poor and could be that way again if he wasn't careful and many thousands of other things along this line.