Funny Holidays - Matchstick's Birthday

The match's birthday is celebrated annually on April 10th The date is international and is intended to remind humanity of an important stage in its development associated with the invention of a method of making fire accessible to everyone It is impossible to imagine human life without fire Since ancient times, it has been warming in cold weather, allowing you to cook food and protect yourself from predators, and extend daylight hours To make fire, our distant ancestors used two methods: • friction; • striking a spark from silicon The task was simplified by the creation of a flint - a compact metal device, inside of which a steel, flint and tinder made from a tinder fungus, wood shavings or birch bark were placed And the development of glass production resulted in the creation of another rather labor-intensive method of making fire The sun's ray was caught through a lens and directed at a flammable material The flames were kept in clay pots It was the invention of matches that became a breakthrough in the development of civilization In Europe, the first mention of them dates back to 1530 It is assumed that the “fire sticks” were brought from China by travelers who visited there It was in China, back in 577, that people began to use the ancestors of modern matches, which were widespread and even freely sold in markets The people of China used pine sticks They were dipped in molten sulfur and then dried When sharply rubbed against a hard surface, such sticks easily ignited They were called "the slave clothed with light" Initially, such sticks were used only at the imperial palace They were operated by slaves who were responsible for cooking and lighting the rooms In Europe, matches were improved This was facilitated by the discovery of phosphorus, and then Berthollet salt In 1833, white phosphorus began to be widely used in their manufacture It was later replaced by red phosphorus, due to the fact that white is harmful to the environment and humans during production and fire During the same period, the classic matchbox that we are accustomed to seeing was developed On the day of the official creation of matches, you can visit the museum and look at interesting exhibits - matches from different times It is also worth going to the exhibition site of a large match factory There visitors can learn about the history of their origin And children will be interested in making crafts from matches - a house, a well, an armchair