A Conversation for The Quite Interesting Society
QI - A good rub down.
Clive the flying ostrich: Amateur Polymath | Chief Heretic. Posted Jul 12, 2009
Shall I call time on this one?
QI - A good rub down.
McKay The Disorganised Posted Jul 13, 2009
I thought I knew quite a lot about smokers accoutrents - I used to sell cigarettes, I collected matches, I researched articles on William Stead, William Booth , and Thomas Barnardo, all of whom campaigned against the early match workers and the way they (and their families) were abused ~ but I know nothing about what sparked the original idea for a match.
Logically it will be warfare related - but I'm not seeing how.
QI - A good rub down.
Clive the flying ostrich: Amateur Polymath | Chief Heretic. Posted Jul 13, 2009
Well since this has been dragging on, I'll be fairly liberal with the clues. 
It's not the original match invention, nor is it anything like the safety match but something halfway between the two, a kind of early-modern ancestor to the match we use today.
The key thing is where it was invented.
QI - A good rub down.
gandalfstwin OGGMSTKMBGSUIKWIATA Posted Jul 13, 2009
Gunpowder..
China...
Probably used a saltpetre impregnated string to act as an igniter for their fireworks.....
(waits for three klaxons)
GT
QI - A good rub down.
Clive the flying ostrich: Amateur Polymath | Chief Heretic. Posted Jul 13, 2009
China? 
Sorry GT.
QI - A good rub down.
gandalfstwin OGGMSTKMBGSUIKWIATA Posted Jul 13, 2009
Matchlock weaponary, or Warship cannons, lit by a 'matche'
GT
QI - A good rub down.
pedro Posted Jul 14, 2009
Was it a flintlock type thingy for cannon or something?
QI - A good rub down.
Clive the flying ostrich: Amateur Polymath | Chief Heretic. Posted Jul 14, 2009
No, it's not how a flintlock mechanism operates through ignition.
QI - A good rub down.
Taff Agent of kaos Posted Jul 14, 2009
are we still trying to find the inspiration for the safety striker on the side of a batch box????
QI - A good rub down.
gandalfstwin OGGMSTKMBGSUIKWIATA Posted Jul 14, 2009
Did it originate in Germany?
GT
QI - A good rub down.
Clive the flying ostrich: Amateur Polymath | Chief Heretic. Posted Jul 14, 2009
Oh no!
GT -5
QI - A good rub down.
Clive the flying ostrich: Amateur Polymath | Chief Heretic. Posted Jul 14, 2009
Right stick Taff, wrong end.
QI - A good rub down.
Taff Agent of kaos Posted Jul 14, 2009
were matches the waste product of an industry, cabinet making/sawmills etc.
QI - A good rub down.
Clive the flying ostrich: Amateur Polymath | Chief Heretic. Posted Jul 14, 2009
Not this one. This one had a special property not possessed by any of it's forebears but adopted by almost all subsequently.
QI - A good rub down.
Taff Agent of kaos Posted Jul 14, 2009
modern matches need a special striker
original matches just needed a friction source, sandpaper
fires were suposedly started by rats and mice nibbling at match heads
modern matches are known as safety matches
is there a reaction between the head and the striker???
QI - A good rub down.
Clive the flying ostrich: Amateur Polymath | Chief Heretic. Posted Jul 14, 2009
After all this time - someone said the word!!
FRICTION! (from fricare ‘to rub - hence the title)
This was the first match to be invented through being struck, all previous matches were ignited either through a chemical reaction (most of the fairly nasty) or through being introduced to a prior established flame.
Everything that follows on from this: the safety match; fossy jaw; matchbook girls came after this pivotal moment.
What I want to know is where is it that can duly lay claim to this momentous creation?
QI - A good rub down.
Clive the flying ostrich: Amateur Polymath | Chief Heretic. Posted Jul 14, 2009
Taff +3
QI - A good rub down.
Clive the flying ostrich: Amateur Polymath | Chief Heretic. Posted Jul 14, 2009
First match invented to be ignited through being struck - excuse me. 
QI - A good rub down.
ekky99 Posted Jul 17, 2009
Swan Vestas used to have a sandpaper striker down both sides of the box until an employee suggested just putting it on one side and saved the company a fortune.
QI - A good rub down.
Clive the flying ostrich: Amateur Polymath | Chief Heretic. Posted Jul 17, 2009
QI +6
Yes that's true. They also used to have a habit of spontaneous combustion for that reason. 
Key: Complain about this post
QI - A good rub down.
- 41: Clive the flying ostrich: Amateur Polymath | Chief Heretic. (Jul 12, 2009)
- 42: McKay The Disorganised (Jul 13, 2009)
- 43: Clive the flying ostrich: Amateur Polymath | Chief Heretic. (Jul 13, 2009)
- 44: gandalfstwin OGGMSTKMBGSUIKWIATA (Jul 13, 2009)
- 45: Clive the flying ostrich: Amateur Polymath | Chief Heretic. (Jul 13, 2009)
- 46: gandalfstwin OGGMSTKMBGSUIKWIATA (Jul 13, 2009)
- 47: pedro (Jul 14, 2009)
- 48: Clive the flying ostrich: Amateur Polymath | Chief Heretic. (Jul 14, 2009)
- 49: Taff Agent of kaos (Jul 14, 2009)
- 50: gandalfstwin OGGMSTKMBGSUIKWIATA (Jul 14, 2009)
- 51: Clive the flying ostrich: Amateur Polymath | Chief Heretic. (Jul 14, 2009)
- 52: Clive the flying ostrich: Amateur Polymath | Chief Heretic. (Jul 14, 2009)
- 53: Taff Agent of kaos (Jul 14, 2009)
- 54: Clive the flying ostrich: Amateur Polymath | Chief Heretic. (Jul 14, 2009)
- 55: Taff Agent of kaos (Jul 14, 2009)
- 56: Clive the flying ostrich: Amateur Polymath | Chief Heretic. (Jul 14, 2009)
- 57: Clive the flying ostrich: Amateur Polymath | Chief Heretic. (Jul 14, 2009)
- 58: Clive the flying ostrich: Amateur Polymath | Chief Heretic. (Jul 14, 2009)
- 59: ekky99 (Jul 17, 2009)
- 60: Clive the flying ostrich: Amateur Polymath | Chief Heretic. (Jul 17, 2009)
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