[pct-l] flying with gear - Get a duffle bag!

[Denis Stanton]

On 8/07/2007, at 11:31 AM, Pam Bryant wrote:

> What's a safety match?
>

If you are young enough to be asking this question then it's safe to  
assume that all the matches you have seen are safety matches.  The  
safety part means that the phosphorous which ignites from the heat/ 
friction of striking is actually on the side of the box, not on the  
match.  It is the box that lights first and ignites the match.  The  
box ignition only lasts an instant.

Older matches had all the chemicals on the match, which meant they  
could be struck on any surface capable of supplying some friction and  
therefore some heat.  The only place you are liable to see non-safety  
matches nowadays is in old Western movies where the tough cowboy  
strikes a match on his boot, the bar or sometimes the unshaven face  
of some adversary when he wants to start a fight.

You can strike a safety match on surfaces other than the chemical  
layer on the box, but it requires a long drag across a slightly  
abrasive surface to get it hot enough and you generally wear away the  
match head before it catches fire.

Denis Stanton
denisstanton at mac.com