Janoschka magazine Linked_V6_2021

66 t o t e l l t h e t r u t h
issue #6 ©
l i n k e d
67
A burning interest
in the pocket-size lighter
Once this idea really caught on, it culminated
in Carl Auer von Welsbach’s development
of ferrocerium in 1903. This excellent
ignition substance is still used in
practically every lighter even today. Parallel
to ferrocerium, the friction wheel ignition
method appeared – a perfect match.
The rest of the story can be told in a few
words: the 1960s saw the invention of
refillable tanks – small and handy fuel
containers. After that came the refillable
lighter, followed by the disposable
lighter.
So which came first: the match or the lighter? We can’t
say for certain. The significance of fire for humanity is
so obvious that we don’t need to spell it out. But the
fire-making utensils are certainly interesting, both as
technical curiosities and as attractive objects. And so, of
course, are the enterprising people who were prepared
to risk anything to enable us to literally light fires at the
drop of a hat, safely and effortlessly.
Do you know...
why a sailor dies, if one lights
a cigarette with a candle?
In the old days, sailors used to sell matches
on land during the winter or when
they received no pay on the ship.
If people used a candle rather than
a match to light a cigarette,
they deprived a sailor of his earnings
and robbed him of his livelihood.