We take so many things for granted today. For example, take a look at matches and matchbooks. Did you know that modern matches were not invented until 1827?

Match history
John Walker, an English chemist, developed the first friction match, or match that would light against a rough surface, in 1827. The process that Walker developed produced spectacular results, although sometimes not in the way that Walker, and Samuel Jones, who ended up patenting the process, intended. For one thing, when the matches were lit, they smelled terrible. The matches were also apparently capable of throwing sparks quite a ways away, making them a challenge to use safely.

Charles Sauria, from France, solved the smell problem in 1831 by adding white phosphorus to the chemical mix of matches. Unfortunately, working with white phosphorous was very hazardous to the health. Workers developed bone disorders and brain damage. In spite of this, the manufacturing and use of white phosphorus matches continued well into the 20th century in some countries. China did not ban white phosphorous matches until 1925. The United States government never did ban these matches. However, in 1913, the United States did enact a law that placed a high tax on them.

The turning point in match safety came in 1844. Gustaf Erik Pasch, a Swede, invented the safety match, with a reformulated mix that included red phosphorous instead of white phosphorous. Lighting a match required a special striking surface.

Matches were further improved in the 1850s and then again in 1898, when French chemists Savene and Cahen developed a new match using a compound of phosphorus and sulfur.. Their matches were not poisonous and did not throw dangerous sparks. These matches were considered to be strike-anywhere matches because, like the first matches, they could be lit from any rough surface.

Matchbooks
Matchbooks are an American invention, developed in 1889 by Joshua Pusey, a Philadelphia lawyer and patent attorney. Thus, phillumenism was born.

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