129. Zippo Lighter
A thing of beauty
If this were a list of iconic American sounds, the satisfying click of the Zippo would surely be among them. Our lighter, with its trademarked, soft-edged rectangular form, a pleasure to open, light, and close—the original fidget toy—is a tactile, audible thing of beauty.
Its windproof chimney was modeled after an Austrian design in the 1930s. But that foreign lighter was clunky and required two hands to operate. George G. Blaisdell, a Pennsylvania inventor who had quit school after the 8th grade, struck upon the idea of the hinged lid, and the essential form of the thing has remained unchanged for nearly a century.
Although it was never officially issued by the military, it is nevertheless closely associated with soldiers. Millions of GIs took Zippos to Europe and the Pacific in WWII. In Vietnam, street vendors would engrave the lighters with personalized messages, and those Zippos—now collectors’ items—speak to the cynical humor, anger and ambivalence of that fraught war, where “Zippo squad” described the search and destroy teams assigned to burn a village.
These days, with cigarette smoking in steep decline, what need do we have of portable fire? We no longer raise them in concert halls to salute performers. And yet, people still buy Zippos, if only for the pleasure of owning an elegant, perfectly made object. They are still backed, as they always have been, by an unlimited lifetime guarantee, a reminder of a time when everyday objects were built to last indefinitely.
Links:
Too many emails? Instructions for receiving a weekly summary can be found here.
This post is part of The American 250, a series featuring 250 words on 250 objects made by Americans, located in America, in honor of the country’s 250th anniversary. Through December 31, 2026.
I’m looking for ideas for this series — have something you’d like me to consider for inclusion? Please feel free to leave a comment!
Buried somewhere are some Zippos that my dad, Gus had - one has the squadron decal of VF-111 on it. I need to find them - maybe you can help!
"We no longer raise them in concert halls to salute performers."
I miss those days!