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The match was first technically made in 1680 by Roberty Boyle. He coated a small piece of paper with phosphorous and coated a small piece of wood with sulfur. He then rubbed the wood across the paper and created a fire.
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John Walker created the first usable match. He discovered that if he coated the end of a stick with certain chemicals and let them dry, he could start a fire by striking the stick anywhere. These were the first friction matches.
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The Diamond Match Company patented the first nonpoisonous match in the U.S. They used different chemicals which were sesquisulfide of phophorous.
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Thirty thousand match heads will produce a 10-15 foot column of flame. A satchel of sixty thousand match heads has enough firepower to propel a 6 pound bowling ball 1500 feet. Currently, Americans strike about five hundred billion matches a year.
