Benzine is a light liquid that comes from petroleum — oil from the ground. People have long used it to take grease and stains out of clothes: it smells sharp, it dries fast, and dirt comes off with it. Though actually the word has caused a lot of trouble. In English, benzine and benzene sit only one letter apart, but they are not the same stuff. Benzene is one chemical, used to make plastics. Benzine is a mix of liquids from oil, used as a cleaner. There is another trap: in German, Benzin means the petrol you put in a car. That is not what English benzine means here. Because the names collide, careful speakers often say petroleum spirit or cleaning solvent instead.