By 1925, a cartoon cat had become more popular than his fellow silent film stars, and his expertise had been enlisted to convince audiences of consumers to buy Mazda lamps for use in their automobiles.

Trademarked on December 29, 1909, the Mazda name would label millions of lamps - manufactured by various companies - as containing General Electric's advanced incandescent lighting technology. A year or two before, Edison's labs had pioneered the use of sintered tungsten filaments in its bulbs, and this had resulted in lamps that were brighter, whiter, more durable and more energy-efficient.

Along with the standardization of socket sizes that licensing required, these were all good things for purchasers of early automobiles who would be using their vehicles on roads that were often ribbed, rutted, and at night, frequently unlighted.

See what's in the cat's automotive bag of tricks here.