If you watch old movies, old cartoons, and especially westerns, you see characters strike matches against just whatever strikes their fancy at the time. Those old matches must have been really easy to strike. I remember, even back in my youth which was just a few years ago, striking matches against my jeans, teeth, shoe sole, and with my fingernail. These were matches I stole from my grandmother, who had an epic supply of them above the fridge--Ohio Blue Tips. But they still weren't as easy to strike as those GOOD matches in the movies, which burnt a lot better too, and clearly had a lot more sulfur on them. I swear, I've seen people light matches by flicking the SIDE of the match, easy as pie, not needing to contact the tip.
Now, it's nearly impossible to buy strike-anywhere matches at all. I'm sure they were dangerous to transport and now, in a post-911 world, they are probably regulated out of practicality for the children. The only brand available, it seems, is Diamond, which are terrible...you can strike them anywhere, sure, but they won't light. You can certainly forget about doing any Clint Eastwood impersonations with them...I found the fingernail technique utterly impossible, and it's not only my skill.
Why do I care? Well, lighting matches on the box just isn't as cool. And if I could find good matches, I could just toss a few in my cigarette case, and be set. And dammit, I just want them.
It's my hope that--at a certain price--that good, proper, easy lighting, dangerous, toxic, evil, and well-performing matches are available. Am I being optimistic? Or are effective matches "lost technology" in western civilization?
Now, it's nearly impossible to buy strike-anywhere matches at all. I'm sure they were dangerous to transport and now, in a post-911 world, they are probably regulated out of practicality for the children. The only brand available, it seems, is Diamond, which are terrible...you can strike them anywhere, sure, but they won't light. You can certainly forget about doing any Clint Eastwood impersonations with them...I found the fingernail technique utterly impossible, and it's not only my skill.
Why do I care? Well, lighting matches on the box just isn't as cool. And if I could find good matches, I could just toss a few in my cigarette case, and be set. And dammit, I just want them.
It's my hope that--at a certain price--that good, proper, easy lighting, dangerous, toxic, evil, and well-performing matches are available. Am I being optimistic? Or are effective matches "lost technology" in western civilization?
