Deadly matches

Did you know that the development of the lighters was boosted by the World War I? The intense initial flash of matches made easy to locate the soldiers using them in the dark. These deadly occasions fostered the lighter industry. By the end of the War the lighters were mass produced.

The first lighter, the Döbereiner's lamp, was made by a German chemist, Johann Wolfgang Döbereiner in 1823 and stayed in production until 1880. It used zinc metal and sulfuric acid to produce hydrogen gas which was streamed through platinum to flame up. It was quite sensitive and was replaced by the liquid based lighters like Zippo which became part of the standard equipment of the American army in the World War II.