31 A Perfect Match

The first matches were made by a German experimenter. Like others of his time, he was trying to make gold. Instead, he came up with phosphorus. This chemical is so sensitive that it bursts into flame when exposed to the air. The first match was made in 1680. In those days few people could afford even an ounce of phosphorus. It was so expensive that lighting a match was like burning money. The first matches were small bottles containing pieces of paper dipped in phosphorous. When exposed to the air, they caught fire.

It was not until 1827, in England, that the type of match we are familiar with was made. It used phosphorous too, but in smaller amounts. It was lighted by friction. Everyone could afford these matches. They replaced flint and steel, which for ages had been the only tools for starting fires. But these matches proved to be a curse as well as a blessing. Phosphorus is a deadly poison. People who made matches often died from a disease caused by the poison. Babies died from swallowing match heads. Some people used them to commit suicide.

At last, in 1911, William Fairbun devised a nontoxic type of phosphorous. He proved himself an unselfish man by giving the formula to all the matchmakers, rather than keeping it for his own profit.

第一根火柴是由一位德国实验者制造的。和他同时代的其他人一样，他试图制造黄金。相反，他发现了磷。这种化学物质非常敏感，暴露在空气中就会燃烧起来。第一根火柴制造于1680年。在那个年代，很少有人能买得起一盎司的磷。它太贵了，点一根火柴就像在烧钱。最初的火柴是小瓶子，里面装着浸过磷的纸片。当暴露在空气中时，它们就会着火。

直到1827年，在英国，我们熟悉的这种火柴才被制造出来。它也使用磷，但用量更少。它通过摩擦点燃。每个人都买得起这种火柴。它们取代了火石和钢，后者几个世纪以来一直是生火的唯一工具。但这些火柴被证明是一种诅咒，也是一种祝福。磷是一种致命的毒药。制造火柴的人经常死于这种毒药引起的疾病。婴儿因吞食火柴头而死亡。有些人用它们自杀。

最后，在1911年，威廉·费尔本设计出了一种无毒的磷。他把配方提供给所有火柴制造商，而不是为了自己牟利，这证明他是一个无私的人。