- A Household Staple
Yesterday, there popped into my head an old ditty that was considered quite risqué when I was about eight or nine years old. It went:
Matches. Matches. M-A-T-C-H-E-S.
Matches. Matches. M-A-T-C-H-E-S.
You can strike ‘em on wood,
You can strike ‘em on glass,
I know a lady who can strike ‘em on her …
Matches. Matches. M-A-T-C-H-E-S.
Clearly the subject was “strike anywhere matches” and yesterday’s situation that prompted my memory was learning that Jack’s Country Store doesn’t have any right now.
“We haven’t been able to get them,” we were told. “It’s something about a safety issue.”
That reminded me of another match milestone – when the striker on book matches was moved to the back of the matchbook. Presumably, too many people could not manage to “close cover before striking.” Duh!
Well, there are safety issues and there are safety issues. Here in the United States we have about a gazillion agencies to regulate our stupidity and a gazillion lawyers to help us make a fortune if something goes wrong.
I don’t think that’s yet the case in most other countries. I’ve climbed Aztec pyramids in Mexico and Roman aqueducts in France that are pretty scary—no hand rails or barriers between you and the far-below. I don’t even remember if “At Your Own Risk” was mentioned. There was an assumption of common sense. I’m not sure what the assumption is here in the good old U.S. of A.
I was not too surprised at your report that Jack’s was out of strike anywhere matches. They have been banned for some time in Europe.
There were issues when they were transported, they would ignite frequently enough that it was a problem.
In an effort to become safer they have had less and less phosphorus on the tips, you probably noticed that it was not as easy to strike them and you got one try before you had to use the box striker. In addition the total chemical tip has been reduced as well, making the ignition of the wood less likely.
There is also a bit of a history available here:
http://chemistry.about.com/od/everydaychemistry/a/matches.htm
We used to dip the tip in paraffin making them waterproof and also safer to carry when we were camping. (sometime shortly after the stone age I think}. The paraffin also also made them burn longer.
Speaking of which, there is a now more convenient and safer way to light a camp fire. Quite well thought out in fact… The device is a chunk of magnesium a strip of flint and a piece of iron like a old piece of hack saw blade, although sometimes they don’t come with one and assume you will use a knife.
You then use the blade to carve off a small pile of magnesium shavings, then strike a spark into the pile using the steel blade and flint.
Magnesium burns very hotly and for a long enough time that it will light tinder easily, even if a bit damp.
I suspect that most people are using disposable lighters, they are certainly more profitable to sell, and easier to loose. I have very little use for them myself, as I usually can fine one only when it is empty, and feel that “disposable” is a relative term.
Interestingly, I had just run across an article of how to make your own strike anywhere matches earlier in the week. I didn’t need any (I have some still left over from my last purchase) but found the video amusing…
Here is an “instructable” if you absolutely have to have them (or are easily amused):
http://blog.makezine.com/archive/2011/06/how-to-strike-anywhere-matches.html
Strike Anywhere Matches appear to be a hot (ahem!) topic online. From what I saw in a fast overview, they are banned by lots of airlines and in a number of airports world wide. Also in some U. S. states. I didn’t see anything specific about banning in Europe, though. Lighters, on the other hand, are more acceptable. Go figure…
Well, you know what they say: Common sense aint common. At least not anymore…
Recently the Tacoma News Tribune had an article about the stupidest warning labels which included one on a child’s scooter. “Warning, product may move.” Honestly, if people would take responsibility for their own actions/stupidity, we wouldn’t need to be so over-regulated.