Bizzare Facts

We tend to assume that simple technology always precedes complex technology—that the wooden stick comes before the metal machine. But in the history of fire, we have it backward. The first mechanical **lighter** was invented in **1823** by a German chemist named Johann Wolfgang Döbereiner. Known as 'Döbereiner's lamp,' it was a tabletop device that used a chemical reaction between zinc and sulfuric acid to produce hydrogen gas, which ignited when released over a platinum catalyst.

It was a dangerous and cumbersome gadget, but it worked instantly. In contrast, the first successful **friction match**—the simple wooden stick we strike against a box—wasn't invented until three years later, in **1826**, by English chemist John Walker. Before that, people used flint and steel or 'chemical matches' that were unreliable and often explosive.

So, technically, the lighter is older than the match. The complex chemical engine existed before the simple friction stick. It’s a reminder that technological progress isn't always a straight line from simple to complex; sometimes, we invent the complicated solution first, only to discover the simple one later.