Who patented fire? As wildfires create terror in southern California, we "celebrate" the 171st birthday of the U.S. patent for the friction match (inventor: Alonzo Phillips), the invention that made fire portable.
Who really invented the match? The friction match was actually invented by English chemist John Walker in 1827, and the process was initially patented by another Englishman, Samuel Jones, and sold in the UK as "lucifers." Phillips improved on the process and patented his "Manufacture of Friction-Matches" ("for the Instantaneous Production of Light") in 1836 in the U.S., calling his product "locofocos."
And the match gave us? Lucifers and locofocos quickly led to the rise of smoking tobacco and the mass production of cigarettes. Using a match was a dangerous (and smelly) proposition until Carl Lundstrom of Sweden invented the first red phosphorus "safety" matches in 1855.
How do you sell a matchbook? Joshua Pusey--annoyed by the size of safety matches--invented book matches in 1889. Ironically, the product was unpopular until somebody realized you could advertise on it. (Kind of like the invention of the radio: nobody made a dime off it until they invented commercials.)
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