Zippo's famous flint-wheel Ignition at work

A lit 1968 slim model Zippo

An open full-size Navy Zippo

Brass-based case design with matched insert coloring

A closed black crackle Zippo

A Zippo dismantled for fueling

133ml Zippo Lighter Fluid

A Zippo lighter is a refillable, metal lighter manufactured by Zippo Manufacturing Company. Thousands of different styles and designs have been made in the seven decades since their introduction. They are frequently collected. For the gay mens lifestyle magazine, see Genre (magazine). ... Year 1932 (MCMXXXII) was a leap year starting on Friday (the link will display full 1932 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... For the computer game by Peter Molyneux, see The Entrepreneur. ... Bradford is a small city located in rural McKean County, Pennsylvania, in the United States 78 miles (126 km) south of Buffalo, New York. ... A website (alternatively, web site or Web site) is a collection of Web pages, images, videos or other digital assets that is hosted on one or more web servers, usually accessible via the Internet. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 600 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (1600 × 1600 pixel, file size: 660 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Lighter Zippo ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 600 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (1600 × 1600 pixel, file size: 660 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Lighter Zippo ... Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 × 599 pixelsFull resolution (2580 × 1932 pixel, file size: 582 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Photo taken by myself, Joe Bengoechea photograph by ArnabSarkar File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to... Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 × 599 pixelsFull resolution (2580 × 1932 pixel, file size: 582 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Photo taken by myself, Joe Bengoechea photograph by ArnabSarkar File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to... Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (2048 × 1536 pixel, file size: 653 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Picture taken by Adhish Bhargava - Adhishb 01:22, 25 April 2007 (UTC) I, the creator of this work, hereby release it into the public domain. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (2048 × 1536 pixel, file size: 653 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Picture taken by Adhish Bhargava - Adhishb 01:22, 25 April 2007 (UTC) I, the creator of this work, hereby release it into the public domain. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (2048 × 1536 pixel, file size: 637 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Picture taken by Adhish Bhargava - Adhishb 01:24, 25 April 2007 (UTC) I, the creator of this work, hereby release it into the public domain. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (2048 × 1536 pixel, file size: 637 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Picture taken by Adhish Bhargava - Adhishb 01:24, 25 April 2007 (UTC) I, the creator of this work, hereby release it into the public domain. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 450 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (1536 × 2048 pixel, file size: 531 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Picture taken by Adhish Bhargava - Adhishb 01:25, 25 April 2007 (UTC) I, the creator of this work, hereby release it into the public domain. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 450 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (1536 × 2048 pixel, file size: 531 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Picture taken by Adhish Bhargava - Adhishb 01:25, 25 April 2007 (UTC) I, the creator of this work, hereby release it into the public domain. ... A metal naphtha lighter A lighter is a device used to create fire with the intent to ignite another substance such as a cigarette, smoking pipe, or charcoal in a grill. ... A collectible (or collectable) is typically a manufactured item designed for people to collect. ...

They became popular in the United States military, especially during World War II — when, as the company's website says, Zippo "ceased production of lighters for consumer markets and dedicated all manufacturing to the U.S. military." ^[1] Additionally, Zippo lighters are known for offering a lifetime guarantee: if a Zippo lighter breaks, no matter how old or how many owners it has had, the company will replace or fix the lighter for free. The only part of a Zippo lighter that carries no warranty is the finish on the outside of the outer case and lid. The armed forces of the United States of America consist of the United States Army United States Navy United States Air Force United States Marine Corps United States Coast Guard Note: The United States Coast Guard has both military and law enforcement functions. ... Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000...

Zippo lighters gained popularity as “windproof” lighters, able to stay lit in harsh weather, due to the design of the windscreen and adequate rate of fuel delivery. A consequence is that it is hard to extinguish by blowing out the flame. The proper way to extinguish the lighter is to close the top half, which starves the flame of oxygen, but, unlike other lighters, an action like this does not cut the fuel. One of the recognizable features of Zippo is the fact that it burns with a wick. Rapidly opening the top lid produces a loud and easily recognizable clicking sound for which Zippo lighters are known. This noise can be attributed to the spring-toggle lever which is primarily intended to keep the lid closed when the lighter is not in use.

Current Zippos carry a suggested retail price between US$12.95 up to US$8,912.58, depending on the rarity and materials used in the given item. In 2001, according to the fall 2003 issue of IUP Magazine, a 1933 model was purchased for $18,000 at a swap meet in Tokyo, and in 2002 the company bought one valued at $12,000 for its own collection.^[2] During the 2007 75th anniversary celebrations, Zippo sold a near mint 1933 model for $37,000.^[3] The (manufacturers) suggested retail price (MSRP or SRP), list price or recommended retail price (RRP) (originally, Monroney suggested retail price) of a product is the price the manufacturer recommends that the retailer sell it for. ...

History

George G. Blaisdell founded Zippo Manufacturing Company (located in Bradford, Pennsylvania) in 1932, and produced the first Zippo lighter in early 1933, being inspired by an Austrian cigarette lighter of similar design. It got its name because Blaisdell liked the sound of the word "zipper" and "zippo" sounded more modern. On March 3, 1936, patent was granted for the Zippo lighter. ^[4] Bradford is a small city located in rural McKean County, Pennsylvania, in the United States 78 miles (126 km) south of Buffalo, New York. ... This article is about the U.S. State. ... This article is about the fastening device. ... is the 62nd day of the year (63rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1936 (MCMXXXVI) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Since 1933, over 400,000,000 Zippo lighters have been produced. After World War II, the Zippo lighter became increasingly used in advertising by companies large and small through the 1960s.^[5] Many of the early advertising Zippo lighters are works of art painted by hand, and as technology has evolved, so has the design and finish of the Zippo lighter. The basic mechanism of the Zippo lighter has remained unchanged.

In 2002 Zippo expanded its product line to include a variety of utility-style multi-purpose lighters, known as the Zippo MPL. This was followed in 2005 with the Outdoor Utility Lighter, known as the OUL. These lighters are fuelled with butane. In August 2007 Zippo released a new butane cigarette lighter called the Zippo BLU.^[6] Butane, also called n-butane, is the unbranched alkane with four carbon atoms, CH3CH2CH2CH3. ... Butane, also called n-butane, is the unbranched alkane with four carbon atoms, CH3CH2CH2CH3. ...

A museum called Zippo/Case visitors center is located in Bradford, PA at 1932 Zippo Drive. This 15,000 square foot (1393 m²) building contains rare and custom made Zippo lighters, and also sells the entire Zippo line. The museum also contains an enormous collection of Case knives. Since the Zippo company's 60th anniversary in 1992, annual editions have been produced for worldwide Zippo collectors.

From 1949 to 2002 Zippos were also produced in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada.^[7]

Zippo dates

From mid-1955 Zippo started year coding their lighters by the use of dots (.). From 1966 until 1973 the year code was denoted by combinations of vertical lines (|). From 1974 until 1981 the coding comprised combinations of forward slashes (/), and from 1982 until June 1986 the coding was by backslash (). The symbol (|) has various names that refer to differing, yet sometimes related semantics: One of the more popular names is the Sheffer stroke, though often referred to as a pipe (by the Unix community) and Vertical bar, verti-bar, vertical line or divider line by others. ... Due to technical limitations, /. redirects here. ... The backslash ( ) is a typographical mark (glyph) used chiefly in computing. ...

In July 1986, Zippo began including a lot code on all lighters showing the month and year of production. On the left of the underside was stamped a letter A–L, denoting the month (A = January, B = February, et cetera). On the right was a Roman numeral which denoted the year, beginning with II in 1986. Thus a Zippo stamped H IX was made in August, 1993. However in 2000, Zippo altered this system, changing the Roman numerals to more conventional Arabic numerals. Thus a Zippo made in August 2004 was stamped H 04. There was a myth that Zippo lighters were made by prisoners, and the number identified the prisoner, or their crime and sentence length.^[8] Another myth was that a Zippo stamped 'H' was inferior to one stamped 'A'.^[9] Roman numerals are a numeral system originating in ancient Rome, adapted from Etruscan numerals. ... For other uses, see Arabic numerals (disambiguation). ...

Construction

The cases of Zippo lighters are typically made of metal and are rectangular-shaped with a hinged top. Inside the case are the works of the lighter: the spring-toggle lever that keeps the top closed, the wick, windscreen, thumbwheel, and flint, all of which are mounted on an open-bottom metal box that is slightly smaller than the bottom of the outer case, and into which it slips snugly. The hollow part of the interior box encloses a rayon batt which is in contact with the wick. The fuel, a volatile flammable liquid commonly known as lighter fluid (usually naphtha), is poured into the batt, which traps it. It also contains a tube that holds a short, cylindrical flint. The tube has an interior spring and exterior cap-screw that keeps the flint in constant contact with the exterior thumb-wheel. Spinning this rough-surfaced wheel against flint results in a spark that ignites the fluid in the wick. The batt normally has a small hole in newer models to facilitate easier filling of lighter fluid, and is often used as a place to store extra flints.^[10] All parts of the lighter are replaceable. In all there are 22 parts, and the Zippo lighter requires 108 manufacturing operations. Ferrocerium is the flint in lighters, and its ability to give a large number of sparks when scraped against a rough surface (pyrophoricity) is used in many other applications, such as clockwork toys and strikers for welding torches. ... Rayon is a manufactured regenerated cellulosic fiber. ... Naphtha (CAS No. ...

The Zippo Blu

Zippo released the Zippo Blu in 2007. It is a butane torch lighter, with many features similar to that of the original Zippo. One feature is that it still uses a flint wheel. Some differences are in case design, no internal user-serviceable parts, and it uses butane instead of naphtha.

Pop culture

• Since World War II, Zippo customers have invented a multitude of hand-tricks that can be performed with Zippo lighters.
• A variety of Zippo lighters have been used in films such as Saving Private Ryan, when the soldiers are lighting explosives, cigarettes,etc. ^[11]
• Also in the 3rd Indiana Jones film, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, you can see that Indiana Jones has a Windproof zippo with the lucky charm logo on the lighter.
• Original Pink Floyd singer Syd Barrett used Zippo lighters instead of slides in many songs such as "See Emily Play".
• Ex-Marillion vocalist Fish's 1999 solo album is called Raingods with Zippos.
• Zakk Wylde, the guitarist for Black Label Society has a custom Les Paul with a design taken from a Zippo lighter.
• In Mega Man 2, Heat Man can tuck into his armor. When he does this, he resembles a Zippo Lighter.
• Strong Bad uses a Zippo lighter frequently in the "Strong Bad Email" series of Homestar Runner
• There is a restaurant created by the Zippo company in Branford PA.
• In the TV series king of the hill, Cotton Hill Takes out a Zippo and spits alcohol into the flame, making it a flame-thrower to fight off asian enemies.
• Zippo lighters are featured in the film Reservoir Dogs. Mr. White uses a Zippo to light his and Mr. Pink's cigarettes, Mr. Blonde both lights his cigarette and threatens to ignite a gasoline soaked police officer with a Zippo.
• Seth Gecko uses a Zippo to ignite a fuel-soaked roll of toilet paper in From Dusk Till Dawn.

Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... The word trick has several meanings in English: Confidence trick Magic trick Trick or treat A trick in a card game A trick can be a feat requiring some dexterity or ingenuity performed to amuse or as part of a game, such as a Skateboarding trick. ... Saving Private Ryan is an eleven-time Academy Award nominated 1998 war film. ... Pink Floyd are an English rock band that initially earned recognition for their psychedelic or space rock music, and, as they evolved, for their progressive rock music. ... Roger Keith Syd Barrett (6 January 1946 – 7 July 2006) was an English singer, songwriter, guitarist, and artist. ... See Emily Play was the third single recorded by British psychedelic rock group Pink Floyd, written by original frontman Syd Barrett. ... Marillion is a British Rock group. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Events of 2008: (EMILY) Me Lesley and MIley are going to China! This article is about the year. ... Zakk Wylde (born Jeffrey Phillip Wiedlandt on January 14, 1967 in Bayonne, New Jersey) is an American musician, who is best known for his roles as a guitarist for Ozzy Osbourne and founder of Black Label Society. ... This article is about the Nintendo Entertainment System and the Famicom game. ... Strong Bad is a primary character in the fictional world of Flash animation cartoon series Homestar Runner. ... Homestar Runner is a Flash animated Internet cartoon. ... For the video game based on the film, see Reservoir Dogs (video game). ... Mr. ... Reservoir Dogs is the 1992 debut feature film of director Quentin Tarantino. ... Mr. ... Seth Gecko is one of the main characters in the original From Dusk Till Dawn movie. ... This article or section contains a plot summary that is overly long or excessively detailed compared to the rest of the article. ...

References

1. ^ The story of the Zippo Manufacturing Company at the company's website
2. ^ Zippo’s Czar (brief profile of the company's top executive, with two photographs)
3. ^ http://www.zippo.com/75years/auction/anniversaryAuctionItems.aspx#item34
4. ^ U.S. Patent 2,032,695 
5. ^ Dininny, Paulette (Dec 1998). "Keepers of the Flame: After Big Sales in World War II and Parts in Old Movies, Zippos Are Still Around, Often as hot Collector's Items" (^{[dead link]} – ^{Scholar search}). Smithsonian 29 (9): 44.  (Letters to the editor in response)
6. ^ [1] - Zippo Blu press release
7. ^ Zippo.ca :: Welcome to Zippo Canada
8. ^ The Zippo lighter collectors' guide - Zippo myths (page 4)
9. ^ The Zippo lighter collectors' guide - Zippo myths (page 4)
10. ^ Zippo users manual
11. ^ Zippo.com - Complete List of Hollywood Sightings

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Zippo

• Official site
• Official site (Canada)
• Zippo Blu Website
• Zippo Collectibles
• A Zippo Gallery
• Zippo's Official MySpace page
• How to spot a fake Zippo
• Lightertricks.com Catalogs many Zippo hand-tricks
• Internal cut away of a Zippo
• Japanese Zippo Lighters