This was the traditional solvent for cleaning up and removing excess ink in print shops all over the place.

Often still known by its archaic name Benzol when I was growing up. In high school, walking by the student print shop you could smell it way down the hall at all times. The chem labs were not nearly as bad because they had better ventilation to begin with.

Plus before my time benzene had also been prized as high-octane motor fuel for early cars back when it was obtained for sale naturally by removal from aromatic crude oils in some refineries. This was not such pure benzene however the significant percentage of impurities at the dispenser acted with an "antifreeze" effect and it handled no differently than regular gasoline below 32 degrees F.

Pure benzene freezes at about 40 degrees F, and that pure of a hydrocarbon ended up being too expensive to burn anyway.

IIRC it can really make a lawn mower cut taller grass than premium gasoline, and scientifically it does have about 100 antiknock rating so it's no surprise.