The Zippo is under siege by the forces of homogenization.
I’m generally not one to place much stock in conspiracy theories, but when an American institution comes under senseless attack from within, it gives me pause to reconsider my cherished beliefs. Events I’ve encountered over the past several weeks have left me no choice but to conclude there’s a conspiracy of hydra-like proportions slithering unnoticed through our country. It’s so far-reaching, it’s almost impossible to unearth its roots. And so insidious, it goes largely unnoticed.…
Article comments
26 - Brad Schader
Zippos are also fun. You can't do all those nifty tricks with a Bic. Only a Zippo works. Then there is the sound of a Zippo. The excuse to play with my Zippo is the biggest part of smoking I miss.
27 - RJ
EPIC article! You are made of win, sir. :-)
28 - Ray Ellis
Why, thank you, RJ, sir. :)
29 - dankery
bic lighters a sketchy. one time i tossed one onto the top of my desk and it exploded on impact. it sounded like a fucking shotgun blast.
30 - Marcia L. Neil
Since World War II, a book has been expected from Zippo detailing its market initiation and operations in Europe, to be available in the public domain. Instead Zippo chose to diversify, adding golf ball manufacturing to its lighter product line. Most recently, local journalism tells us that a line of Italian handbags is the next company offering--an idea, however, resulting from provocative telephone call-demand strategies that ritually assail others who have names deemed foreign on their birth certificates (i.e., 'Italian hand bag', with regard to post-natal condition resulting from continuous harassment).
Such recent book titles in the marketplace as 'If I Did It' and 'Harry Potter' reflect that effort to put such a book on bookstore shelves.
31 - Ray Ellis
That's almost interesting, Marcia. If only it made any sense. . .
32 - Chris Beaumont
I have never been a smoker, but I've always wanted a Zippo.
@Marcia: Huh?
33 - Marcia L. Neil
...and the historical hotel/apartment house fires in Paris, France 2006-2007, the suspicions continue. What inducements were made to the French to secure photographs of the city from its various bridge perspectives is not quite known, although some of that country's participants are thought to be lost forever in the Mediterranean Sea after the sinking of the cruise ship the 'Sea Diamond' near Greece. All to fill out U.S. gallery agendas--what a scandal. The Three Rivers area in Allegheny County, PA, gave a premier showing.
34 - Zippo Lighter Diva
Many thanks, love the article. Posted it as a link on several of my Zippo sites.
35 - HC
I hate to break it to you, but zippos are terrible. The fuel evaporates by the end of the day so you need to keep a can of lighter fluid in the back of your car, sater than a bic, i hardly think so.
they stopped stocking the fuel because it makes fags taste awefull and nobody wants to use it. Its all about allocative effeciency: use the retail space to promote proper butane lighters rather than refils and parts for nasty, unreliable Zippos.
(This isnt your usual UK slags off america post, i have had numerous zippos and thrown most of them out on the side of the road in frustration at their lack of reliability). To this day they litter the M6, oh the irony.
Clippers are the future. 99pence each, resist the wind better than a zippo, use isobutane which is safer, cleaner and lasts longer.
36 - Ray Ellis
HC, you must be buying knock-offs. One would not make a habit of tossing Zippos out of cars, if for no other reason than it's not cost effective.
I don't know what you're calling "lighter fluid," but a fill in a Zippo lasts considerably longer than a day, even with heavy use. You must remember, however, to close the lid when not in use.
Oh, I daresay nothing is more resistant than a Zippo. I live in one of the windiest cities in the US, and Zippos have never failed me.
37 - mason
Marcia L. Neil: you sound like my english teacher... go buy a bic and throw it at your desk.
I just bought my zippo from wall-mart where they are a good $5 cheaper. Fortunately, the world won't end anytime soon... as long as wall-mart is still around XD.
also, zippo has an online store, which obviously you people /could/ get to. so stop using bic flints!
38 - JoE
I like messing around with Zippo's and I don't even smoke lol It's just fun to hear it click when it shuts and when I use it for various things it works well.
Bics work kinda if you get a crowd of people around you on a windy day
39 - Wally
I'm a Bic user now, they never have failed me. Zippo's are a pain in the butt. The flints on Zippo's last about a week, so it's really cheaply made, the gas last about 1 or 2 days, also you have to keep cleaning it.
I don't have the time for all the maintenance Zippo lighters requires. I just use my Bic disposable lighter for about every 2 months and I'm happy. Bic's don't break, they don't smell, no cleaning is required, no need to change the fluid every 2 days, no need to change the flints every 1 or 2 weeks.
Time is money, and I don't have time to waste to maintain a damn lighter.
40 - cdawg
Whoever says Zippos are crap obviously has never had a real one. Flints do not need to be replaced once a week, maybe once a month under heavy use, but ive yet to achieve killing one in less than 2 months. Granted I barely smoke. Honestly if I have to refill it more than once a week its rare, and if thats hard for you than fine, but I prefer my Zippo, you can keep your bic.
41 - Zippy
1. A person who believes ANYTHING that Mythbusters says will believe... anything. A cheap plastic lighter sitting in a closed vehicle, out in the hot Texas sun CAN and WILL get hot enough to explode. It would seem like common sense, but...
2. MSN news IS in the habit of making things up! I'm just kidding, there's no such thing as propaganda or disinformation in the good ol' U.S.A.
3. If you light a cigarette or a pipe with a Zippo, it DOES TASTE LIKE FUEL.
Now that I got that off my chest..
Great article. Very well written. I share the same love for Zippos that you do. However, even something as near-perfect as a Zippo could use a few minor tweaks after 75 years.
- The taste of the gas. I don't really blame the lighter, but the fuel. It definitely tastes and smells a lot like BBQ lighter fluid.
- Also, the fuel evaporates WAY too fast. I have one that I use for emergency's that I only fire up about once a week. EVERY TIME I use it, I have to refill it. It doesn't matter how much I soak it, it constantly needs refilling.
- And finally, the ol' Zippo leg burn. Anyone who has been in the habbit of carrying one in their pocket knows how irritating lighter fluid can be when it soaks into your outer (and god forbid) inner thigh. OUCH!
All in all, I really don't blame the Zippo at all, BUT THE FUEL. If a fuel was designed that was tasteless, slighty thicker, and that didn't have the habit of leaking out and evaporating, THEN Zippo would be 100% perfect. Hands down.
Until then there's always IMCO lighters ;)
42 - kingtat
Great Article,I mostly agree, just don't keep pushing the fire hazard angle,as being a con for butanes,those incidents are isolated compared to the fact that zippo's don't go out if you drop them!!