the.com/matches
Tiny torches that fit in your pocket and once cost a king's ransom to make.
means Small sticks tipped with a chemical that bursts into flame when struck against a rough surface — also, by extension, things or people that pair well together.
from From the Old French 'mesche,' meaning the wick of a candle or lamp — related to a wider family of words for the cord that carries a flame. For centuries a 'match' was just that: a length of cord soaked to smoulder slowly, used to set off cannons and muskets. Only in the 19th century, once chemists worked out how to put fire on the end of a little stick, did 'match' come to mean the friction-lit splint we know. The other 'match' — a suitable pair, a contest, a marriage — comes from a completely separate Old English root, 'gemæcca,' meaning a mate or companion; the two words simply collided in spelling over time.
- first match
- 1826 chemist's accident, ignited by scraping a hearth
- safety split
- Striker and head separated to stop pocket fires
- phossy jaw
- White phosphorus rotted matchmakers' jawbones alive
- book closure
- Matchbook striker moved to back to prevent flare-ups
- strike anywhere
- Self-igniting tips banned on many planes today
wimbledon championships — annual tennis tournament at the all england club since 1877, oldest grand slam
world chess championship — magnus carlsen vs ding liren 2023, supreme test of strategic gameplay
super bowl — annual nfl championship game, 58 editions since 1967, watched by ~115 million americans