On Thu, 18 Sep 2008 10:25:01 -0400, Joseph Gwinn
wrote:

In article ,
Wes wrote:

"Ed Huntress" wrote:

No problem. Some people here are so old that we can't remember, either. g

It's a mixed bag. Cars are much better, and fishing reels are, too. But
wooden matches have gone to hell.

I'm with you on all of that. I'd love to have a decent strike everywhere
match.

I suspect the problem is that they took all or most of the phosphorus
out of the match tips, for safety. Phosphorus is poisonous, and can be
really hard on unsupervised children.

Joe Gwinn

Partly correct. Elemental white phosphorus is more toxic than
potassium cyanide (orally). But strike-anywhere matches have not
contained white P for a long time. The tongue-twister tetraphosphorus
trisulfide is one of the ingredients in the white tip. It provides
friction sensitivity with low toxicity.

Strangely enough, I was browsing in Stagers Store in Portage PA this
summer, and saw a shelf that had SAW matches. Grabbed a pack of three
boxes. They seem to work pretty well, though they have a tendency to
break more easily than I remember from my youth (tasted an awful lot
of sulfur dioxide while learning to strike a match on my teeth).

Best -- Terry