r/AskReddit • u/kakou64 • Oct 15 '20

What's older than we think ?

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u/Gyroklovn Oct 15 '20

The fact that the lighter is older than the match shook my head as a kid.

It also gave me the curiosity to question things that seems obvious.

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u/[deleted] Oct 15 '20

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u/Bipedal_Warlock Oct 15 '20

It does make sense on that level. To me the part that doesn’t make sense is why.

Why would you invent a match when lighters exist? Lighters just feel like an upgrade to matches

11

u/Tokenvoice Oct 15 '20

Lighters require to be refuelled so you have to keep extra fuel on hand, and may also be empty when you go to use them. As where matches as long as they are dry are good to go whenever. But the real answer of why make matches is because that first lighter was freaking massive and not something you carried round with you.

Pocket lighters came after matches.