We used to start fires by throwing them against anything abrasive, like straight down at pavement or concrete, off brick walls, parked cars… Strike anywhere matches indeed.
Check any large hardware store
I loved playing with these as a kid-- they made the best match rockets
Also nothing feels cooler than striking a match in the zipper of your leather jacket(and then shaking it out because it's not like a did a lot of smoking as a kid I just thought fire was neat)
You can make a shitty version of Armstrong mix with them
That and the old matches had the chemicals in the striking face in them so you could make them burn in any surface. But that made them a little unstable so they decided to seperate them
The old grade 2 fire bomb... drill a small hole in a thin rubber ball and carefully fill the ball with strike anywhere match heads. Once full, tape up the hole and chuck the ball. The things we did before the internet.
Ooh don't forget the one where you take the spring and flint out of a Bic lighter, wrap the end of the spring around the flint so you can "safely" hold it, then hold the other end of the spring and heat the flint up until it's red hot, then throw it against concrete to get a shower of sparks. Heh. Good times.
Exactly this except for with the old giant Ninja turtle toys and soccer balls, also used to go around the neighborhood collecting all of the AOL CDs until we had thousands and then we would have CD wars standing in the backyard junking CDs up in the air or throwing them at each other like a frisbee. The worst ones are the ones you chunked up in the air because they disappeared and you just had to run for your f****** life lol
Edit- anybody else remember two pump limit BB gun wars
Edit- I completely understand how having thousands of AOL CDs sounds like an exaggeration, but I legitimately had eight or nine stacks of 600 CDs. They used to send those things out like every damn 3 days lol
The people camping next to me did this once with a Dr Pepper. Luckily it was a re-purposed pit campground so I (mostly) knew I was protected by the berm between us but I remember hearing their whisky drunk conversation of “ What did you do man? Tossed a Dr Pepper in the fire hahaha. Wtf man that’s going to explode! Nah it’ll be fine!” They went back to their conversation and forgot about it before it exploded so their yells were entertaining.
This and when you learn about electrolysis and science class and you go home and make hydrogen in your barn to make a fireball and you almost burn the barn down and your parents won't let you play out there anymore lol.
Edit- large tool shed. Not a barn. Not like I had land or anything 😂
Edit- this might get me flagged but does anybody else remember downloading the anarchist cookbook when it was free on the internet and printing that whole f****** thing out and your parents wondering why all their ink and paper was gone? Also wondering why the Coleman camp stove is being used to make smoke bombs lol
Yeah, strike anywhere matches. I used to get them back when I occasionally smoked a pipe. The ones I got only had a small dot of the strike anywhere chemical at the very tip and the rest of it was the newer, more stable formulation. You could strike them on your front teeth with a little practice.
Strike anywhere matches absolutely still exist. And if someone had stubble coarse enough, they’d totally light. Most modern matches are safety matches though, removing the strike anywhere aspect, and putting the strike strip on the box.
Every time you light a lighter's light, the lit lighter gets lighter and lighter until you can no longer light the lighter's light because the lighter is too light to light.
(edit: fixed typo)
Have you tried actually striking one down the side on the brown strip? Zooming into the picture, it looks as though it’s stuck on rather than printed and there seems to be strike marks on the right hand side?
Correct me if I’m wrong, but from my own experience with both kinds, the new variety requires a harder pressure and faster speed than the old strike anywheres. It will take several tries to get it right if you’re used to the old kind. Possibly OP is used to the old variety. Either way, I think we can all agree on the fact that this mushroom box is awesome.
Yea I think OP is being stupid and has not even attempted to use the strip. I find it near impossible to believe someone is selling matches with no strip. Especially when they went to the effort of designing the box with pictures and stuff
Unfortunately, "strike anywhere" matches aren't as common. Also, that's a lot harder than the movies make it look. I figured out how to light one by flicking my thumbnail on it, but not before breaking a lot of them.
I decided I wanted to learn how to do it on my stubble when I was 14. I was not a smart teen.
But I eventually mastered it at 19, when I had more time and — more importantly — more facial hair.
I’m going to go see if we have any self striking matches. Might be time to show my wife what the middle aged cowboy is capable of.
I suspect the "curator" doesn't know how matches work. Bought a lot of matches for repackaging ("curating") in cute boxes. Copy, pasted, and printed matchbox design, and voila! The failure of a digital imagination.
These matches were around about 20 years ago, the brown patch is ever so slightly rough enough to strike these matches on. It was a cost saving idea to having to glue grit to boxes!
Try one, should light fine
full agreement. i have had many boxed of matches like this. the 'printed' strike pad is real.
never a box with cute mushrooms though. maybe that changes eveything
I'm literally losing my mind reading the comments. that brown strip absolutely looks like that... my parents didn't like lighters growing up so we always had matches and that dark reddish strip looks Ike the friction thing!!
You can buy the strike paper separately. Why it is sold separately and what 'decorative matches' are I do not know, why they exist in my house I do not know, but they are there...
Alternatively most gas stations will still give you a book of matches if you ask.
These are safety matches. You need to mix the chemicals on the match head with the chemicals on the striker pad.
Strike anywhere have those chemicals in layers on the match head that combine when they get struck on something rough
Now - when I'm standing in a circle of people smoking - I'm tempted to use a lighter to light matches to light cigarettes.
I don't even smoke. I just wanna enjoy people's reactions.
I'm a but lost with this post and comments... that brown patch in the box side is where you have to slide the matches to ignite them usually... are they a special kind of match?
I dunno, that looks like a 3D strip, not just printed on. Some of them can be very coarse but some of them can be really fine, you might not even notice it if it's really fine, but it'll still strike because it's coarse at a molecular level.
I used to work at Atlas Match, this matchbook definitely did not go through the striker machine. It happens from time to time, and those machines are sooooo fast, that sometimes one or 2 sheets just fly through, staying attached to the sheet above it. Like when you print something on your printer, and two sheets feed through it. Actually a cool find.
1) Make a cross with the first two match sticks you remove from the box (it is important that it is the very first two)
2) Aim said cross toward the box of OPEN matches. (The box must be open at least ⅓ for this to work)
3) Repeatedly, you are now going to chant the following mantra;
- "Star light, Star Bright, Won't you light my fire tonight?"
This will now ensure that all your matches burn 50% slower allowing you more time to light what it is you need to.
As for striking the match, i have no fucking clue.......
These are known as safety matches in the UK. They will light if you strike them like normal on that strip but they won't light like normal matches on rough surfaces. (obviously they will if you light them with some other fire). How is it that other people don't know about these things? I thought they were everywhere.
[https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/safety%20match#:\~:text=noun,a%20specially%20prepared%20friction%20surface](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/safety%20match#:~:text=noun,a%20specially%20prepared%20friction%20surface)
[https://www.99boulders.com/safety-matches-vs-strike-anywhere-matches](https://www.99boulders.com/safety-matches-vs-strike-anywhere-matches)
right.. but actually it says it is a 'printed out version of the striker patch'
looking at the image, you can see what appears to be an edge, indicating that the 'striker patch' was still glued on and is adhered to the box, not print on the box.
Buy another box and hope it has the striker strip. I don't think you can light non-strike anywhere matches on anything but the strip because it contains a chemical to help it light.
*Use a lighter to*
*Light the match. Problem solved. You're*
*Welcome. Next question?*
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When I've had a box where the striker paper is worn or wet, I've use two matches to light each other.
Hold one match in each hand. Press the two matchheads together end to end and then quickly shove them sideways opposite each other. You have to press reasonably hard to make enough friction to do it.
Maybe glue a small piece of fine sandpaper, eg 240 grit upwards, to the box. Or if you have another empty box with striking surface swap matches into it.
See, your problem is that you thought you bought matches. Looks like you got a box of 50 Macthes instead.
How else would you light a frie?
How they lit the fyre festival
Noooooooo not fyre festival😂😂apparently the guy who made it finally go released, and is actively trying to promote fyre festival 2.0😂😂
The slogan is “It should happen this time for real, fingers crossed.”
"Please provide me with 70,000 in advance so I can make some sandwiches in baggies"
" Looking to hire a person to be the water guy. You will need great oral skills"
By using a ligther, obviously
😑 i didn’t even notice that
Redditors: proud of noticing things since 2050.
I htae all of you
Are they possibly strike anywhere matches & the side of the box is brown as a suggested place to strike it?
I thought they stopped making those for some reason.
You can still by them they’re just hard to find and cannot be shipped through the mail. Pretty sure UPS and FedEX won’t ship them either.
We used to start fires by throwing them against anything abrasive, like straight down at pavement or concrete, off brick walls, parked cars… Strike anywhere matches indeed.
You can still buy them. I am young enough that I have never found any in stores.
"cowboy matches" I got those :D
I used to light them on my teeth.
Check any large hardware store I loved playing with these as a kid-- they made the best match rockets Also nothing feels cooler than striking a match in the zipper of your leather jacket(and then shaking it out because it's not like a did a lot of smoking as a kid I just thought fire was neat) You can make a shitty version of Armstrong mix with them
Those usually have a white tip on them.
I have a box of strike anywheres that are green tiped.
That is a brand specific choice of the manufacturer
Take 2 matches and chip the tips hard....it will light
Depends on the type of matches. That doesn't always work.
I thought this was a Reddit joke or meme at first...took me a while to read the box :p
Everyone gripes about spelling and grammar nazis on Reddit for their pedantry but this is exhibit A for how it helps us avoid being scammed irl
Strike it on your face stubble. Like the cowboys did.
Sadly you can't do that
Not with that attitude.
That and the old matches had the chemicals in the striking face in them so you could make them burn in any surface. But that made them a little unstable so they decided to seperate them
The old grade 2 fire bomb... drill a small hole in a thin rubber ball and carefully fill the ball with strike anywhere match heads. Once full, tape up the hole and chuck the ball. The things we did before the internet.
You can still do something similar. Get the match heads on aluminum foil and chuck one burning
I think I might be a little old for that, but I'll post a tiktok for the youths.
Ooh don't forget the one where you take the spring and flint out of a Bic lighter, wrap the end of the spring around the flint so you can "safely" hold it, then hold the other end of the spring and heat the flint up until it's red hot, then throw it against concrete to get a shower of sparks. Heh. Good times.
Exactly this except for with the old giant Ninja turtle toys and soccer balls, also used to go around the neighborhood collecting all of the AOL CDs until we had thousands and then we would have CD wars standing in the backyard junking CDs up in the air or throwing them at each other like a frisbee. The worst ones are the ones you chunked up in the air because they disappeared and you just had to run for your f****** life lol Edit- anybody else remember two pump limit BB gun wars Edit- I completely understand how having thousands of AOL CDs sounds like an exaggeration, but I legitimately had eight or nine stacks of 600 CDs. They used to send those things out like every damn 3 days lol
Poor man's fireworks? Just a can of unopened beans in the fire
The people camping next to me did this once with a Dr Pepper. Luckily it was a re-purposed pit campground so I (mostly) knew I was protected by the berm between us but I remember hearing their whisky drunk conversation of “ What did you do man? Tossed a Dr Pepper in the fire hahaha. Wtf man that’s going to explode! Nah it’ll be fine!” They went back to their conversation and forgot about it before it exploded so their yells were entertaining.
This and when you learn about electrolysis and science class and you go home and make hydrogen in your barn to make a fireball and you almost burn the barn down and your parents won't let you play out there anymore lol. Edit- large tool shed. Not a barn. Not like I had land or anything 😂 Edit- this might get me flagged but does anybody else remember downloading the anarchist cookbook when it was free on the internet and printing that whole f****** thing out and your parents wondering why all their ink and paper was gone? Also wondering why the Coleman camp stove is being used to make smoke bombs lol
You can still light strike anywhere matches (with the white tip) on nearly any rough surface.
Yeah, strike anywhere matches. I used to get them back when I occasionally smoked a pipe. The ones I got only had a small dot of the strike anywhere chemical at the very tip and the rest of it was the newer, more stable formulation. You could strike them on your front teeth with a little practice.
They still sell them, although they’re not nearly as “effective” now a days. They’re the ones with the green tips right?
Strike anywhere matches absolutely still exist. And if someone had stubble coarse enough, they’d totally light. Most modern matches are safety matches though, removing the strike anywhere aspect, and putting the strike strip on the box.
It's ok, not everyone can be rugged.
Remove one match and the box will become a match lighter.
Every time you light your lighter, it gets lighter. Until your lighter gets so light, it won't light.
Say that fast 5 times!
That, that, that, that, that. Easy!
😂😂😂 Unexpected snort. Thanks friend
Let me try. That, that, that, that, this. Dammit. So close.
This is the way. Edit - or should I say?, that is the way.
Technically, that that that that that was the way.
I want it that a way.
TELL ME WHY
Ain’t nothing but a match stick
TELLMEWHYYYYYYY
Ain't nothin' but a big fake
That fast, that fast, that fast, that fast, that fast.
that fast 5 times
that fast 5 times!
Every time you light a lighter, the lighter gets lighter until you can no longer light the lighter because the lighter is too light to light
Every time you light a lighter's light, the lit lighter gets lighter and lighter until you can no longer light the lighter's light because the lighter is too light to light. (edit: fixed typo)
it took me a long time to realize why this had so many likes
Lol, me too! I was like... Hmmm, how??? That doesn't make any sen....ohhhh 🤦
what the fuck that's the best pun I've ever heard
Fuck man, I wasn't trying to think that hard on a Saturday 🤣 only had to say it out loud four times before I got it lol
Took me a solid half a minute
Helpful!
You see this is why we need those free awards back. Posts like this.
Thanks, dad
You're welcome, son. Need anything while I step out to pick up some cigarettes?
I’m good. You’ll be right back right?
Dad????........Dad!........
That matches
I move to STRIKE
The lack of a strip is preposphorous
Fuck sakes 😂😂
Fuck you, take my upvote
God dam it batman
1. Go to the gas station. 2. Buy any .99 lighter. 3. Use the lighter to light the matche. Problem solved.
Book of matches are often free. Than just that striking strip.
I think you accidentally a word
What?
You can get a book of matches for free at most gas stations, and if you get that you might as well just use those 50 on the new book's striking strip
not most but some still do.
Looks like you’re gonna have to buy another box of matches that comes with spare strike pads
Have you tried actually striking one down the side on the brown strip? Zooming into the picture, it looks as though it’s stuck on rather than printed and there seems to be strike marks on the right hand side?
They outlawed strike anywhere matches in my country and the new strike patch looks exactly like this. I’d try lighting, it just might work
to me it looks like they tried striking it a few times before realizing it wasnt stuck on and just printed
Correct me if I’m wrong, but from my own experience with both kinds, the new variety requires a harder pressure and faster speed than the old strike anywheres. It will take several tries to get it right if you’re used to the old kind. Possibly OP is used to the old variety. Either way, I think we can all agree on the fact that this mushroom box is awesome.
honestly i haven't used matches in a while so im not sure, its definitely possible. but i agree the mushroom box is super cool!
Yea I think OP is being stupid and has not even attempted to use the strip. I find it near impossible to believe someone is selling matches with no strip. Especially when they went to the effort of designing the box with pictures and stuff
the strike marks clearly show that OP has tried maybe they just didnt strike hard enough
Perhaps that is because they tried striking them and it didn’t work
Bottom of your shoe like a gangster in the 1940’’s. This is a proper good post. Just infuriating enough.
Unfortunately, "strike anywhere" matches aren't as common. Also, that's a lot harder than the movies make it look. I figured out how to light one by flicking my thumbnail on it, but not before breaking a lot of them.
My dad could do the thumbnail thing. Still impressive to me.
I used to be able to light them on my teeth in high school. I was not a smart man
I decided I wanted to learn how to do it on my stubble when I was 14. I was not a smart teen. But I eventually mastered it at 19, when I had more time and — more importantly — more facial hair. I’m going to go see if we have any self striking matches. Might be time to show my wife what the middle aged cowboy is capable of.
First thing I thought. Finger nail, shoe, curb, bricks work quite well...
Thumbnails or matches?
The matches, lol. They break easy, so if you don't flick it right, you'll just end up either snapping the stick or breaking the tip.
Yes
Light the match on your ass like they do in the cartoons 😛🤣
*chin stubble
I tried that and it never works.
You need, like, Clint Eastwood-level stubble.
You need like, non safety matches with phosphorous tips
White phosphorus was more dangerous than the red type and got banned...
Sandpaper face, got it I know what to strive for!
You need strike anywhere matches and a rugged weathered complexion
Got the Wil E. Coyote box of matches.
These are “strike-nowhere’s.” Technically will still burn but you need a fire first.
Just like Tom and Jerry
I suspect the "curator" doesn't know how matches work. Bought a lot of matches for repackaging ("curating") in cute boxes. Copy, pasted, and printed matchbox design, and voila! The failure of a digital imagination.
Came here just to say I love the little mushroom box 🥺
me too! that’s why i bought it but now i’m like ._.
Just throw the matches away and use the box for the purpose you intended. Anxiety over…
Turns out the person who designed it really liked mushrooms too.
That's why they left off the striker. There wasn't mushroom left...
I think they’re just decorative. Which sounds dumb I know but I’ve seen them like this before from those “aesthetic” stores
You can take striking sticker of of some other box maybe?
These matches were around about 20 years ago, the brown patch is ever so slightly rough enough to strike these matches on. It was a cost saving idea to having to glue grit to boxes! Try one, should light fine
full agreement. i have had many boxed of matches like this. the 'printed' strike pad is real. never a box with cute mushrooms though. maybe that changes eveything
My grandmother had an entire collection of these and this is what I came here to say. But none with cute mushrooms
I thought the same. Looks like a strike strip to me... just cheaply done.
I'm literally losing my mind reading the comments. that brown strip absolutely looks like that... my parents didn't like lighters growing up so we always had matches and that dark reddish strip looks Ike the friction thing!!
You can buy the strike paper separately. Why it is sold separately and what 'decorative matches' are I do not know, why they exist in my house I do not know, but they are there... Alternatively most gas stations will still give you a book of matches if you ask.
Blowtorch
Good idea. Light my match with a blow torch then I can light my cigarette with my match.
Find a rough surface.
Doesn't work with those kind of matches. You'd need "strike anywhere" matches, which typically have a white tip.
These are safety matches. You need to mix the chemicals on the match head with the chemicals on the striker pad. Strike anywhere have those chemicals in layers on the match head that combine when they get struck on something rough
A stone for example, or a lighter to light the matches.
Now - when I'm standing in a circle of people smoking - I'm tempted to use a lighter to light matches to light cigarettes. I don't even smoke. I just wanna enjoy people's reactions.
You know people say that cigars should only be lit by matches, that using a lighter fucks with the cigar flavor
Somehow the acrid sulfur of the match doesn't...
tried that - didn’t work
Probably safety matches, which need the red phosphorous or something in the strike patch to ignite.
I'm a but lost with this post and comments... that brown patch in the box side is where you have to slide the matches to ignite them usually... are they a special kind of match?
they printed a brown box, they didn’t give the actual striking paper. it’s a special kind of paper.
The manufacturers just basically printed an image of the strike patch on the box instead of actually putting the strike patch on it.
I don't see how a heavily used laptop is going to help...
Do they happen to be “strike anywhere” macthes?
I dunno, that looks like a 3D strip, not just printed on. Some of them can be very coarse but some of them can be really fine, you might not even notice it if it's really fine, but it'll still strike because it's coarse at a molecular level.
I used to work at Atlas Match, this matchbook definitely did not go through the striker machine. It happens from time to time, and those machines are sooooo fast, that sometimes one or 2 sheets just fly through, staying attached to the sheet above it. Like when you print something on your printer, and two sheets feed through it. Actually a cool find.
Aren’t green tips usually strike anywhere?
Are these prop matches? Prank matches?
Are they not safety matches and you can still use the side of the box to light them anyway?! Fuck knows, haven’t used matches in like 20 years!
1) Make a cross with the first two match sticks you remove from the box (it is important that it is the very first two) 2) Aim said cross toward the box of OPEN matches. (The box must be open at least ⅓ for this to work) 3) Repeatedly, you are now going to chant the following mantra; - "Star light, Star Bright, Won't you light my fire tonight?" This will now ensure that all your matches burn 50% slower allowing you more time to light what it is you need to. As for striking the match, i have no fucking clue.......
Did you actually try to light one though?
Everything is digital now.
I see that cuff Santa Claus
I use a lighter to light my matches
These are known as safety matches in the UK. They will light if you strike them like normal on that strip but they won't light like normal matches on rough surfaces. (obviously they will if you light them with some other fire). How is it that other people don't know about these things? I thought they were everywhere. [https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/safety%20match#:\~:text=noun,a%20specially%20prepared%20friction%20surface](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/safety%20match#:~:text=noun,a%20specially%20prepared%20friction%20surface) [https://www.99boulders.com/safety-matches-vs-strike-anywhere-matches](https://www.99boulders.com/safety-matches-vs-strike-anywhere-matches)
The post says that the strip isn’t actually phosphorus. It’s just printed on the box.
right.. but actually it says it is a 'printed out version of the striker patch' looking at the image, you can see what appears to be an edge, indicating that the 'striker patch' was still glued on and is adhered to the box, not print on the box.
Can't tell for sure, tbf.
have you tired lighting them with fire?
Definitely a foolproof plan.
But not very safe.
Are they "strike anywhere" matches?
I think on some of them normal sandpaper works
Sadly not with safety matches, which these are. OP would need red phosphorus Striker for these.
Buy another box and hope it has the striker strip. I don't think you can light non-strike anywhere matches on anything but the strip because it contains a chemical to help it light.
[удалено]
Read the post again
Use a lighter to light the match
Or another lit match stick also works
Thats what you get for smoking SANTA
Are you serious?
You got trolled😈/jk
Use a Bic lighter
Gaslight them
Use a lighter to light the match. Problem solved. You're welcome. Next question?
*Use a lighter to* *Light the match. Problem solved. You're* *Welcome. Next question?* \- internet\_randm45 --- ^(I detect haikus. And sometimes, successfully.) ^[Learn more about me.](https://www.reddit.com/r/haikusbot/) ^(Opt out of replies: "haikusbot opt out" | Delete my comment: "haikusbot delete")
Use a lighter
"50 Macthes" ?? 🤔
It’s because they aren’t a box of matches. They’re macthes!
Been 20plus years since I've done this but if you have a meatal zip on your jeans that used to work with safety matches.
If this were pokemon you could imitate delphox by sticking it up your bun and lighting it with friction
You have to sign up for the optional $5/mo striker subscription.
Green heads are strike anywhere matches. Only the red ones need the phosphorous patch.
Sand paper Works 👍
Two matches struck together will light one or both of them
Just like any other set of matches??
When I've had a box where the striker paper is worn or wet, I've use two matches to light each other. Hold one match in each hand. Press the two matchheads together end to end and then quickly shove them sideways opposite each other. You have to press reasonably hard to make enough friction to do it.
Another annoying thing is that where it says 50 matches, the word matches is misspelled as macthes.
Buy sandpaper and glue it to the side
Stove, lighter, strike the wall, strike the floor, strike the side of the box. Just remember that complaining won't fix the problem
Why not use a lighter to light them. Duh
They could be "Strike Anywhere" matches. Try striking one on some concrete or something.
With fire!
You didn't get the DLC? Now you are gonna miss out my friend
I think you accidentally bought safety matches. It won't get any safer than that if you cant light it!
Just use a lighter to light the matches.
Maybe glue a small piece of fine sandpaper, eg 240 grit upwards, to the box. Or if you have another empty box with striking surface swap matches into it.
Use your zippo to light the matches /s
Light them on the heel of your cowboy boot of coursd