The toothpick burns because its head is made of substances that make the spark from friction with the box turn into a flame. Then, the fire consumes the wood of the toothpick for about 10 seconds. The process is well known: we scratch the toothpick in the box and produce a spark, which makes the flammable substances in the toothpick combust. Whoever discovered these chemical properties was the English physicist Robert Boyle, in 1669. But the matchstick was only created in 1826, when 8-centimeter sticks appeared, presented by the English chemist John Walker – apart from the name, he has nothing to do with with the Scotsman who invented the famous whiskey in the 19th century. But these big matches had a major inconvenience: all the substances necessary for burning were in the head of the artifact. Then, any scraping of the sticks on the pants would make the thing catch fire. The solution came in 1855, when the Swedish industrialist Johan Edvard Lundstrom invented the so-called “safety matches” that people still use today. Lundstrom’s trick was to put part of the substances for burning in the match and another part in the box. That’s why the toothpicks don’t catch fire when you scrape them anywhere!
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2 – The box, in turn, has sand and glass powder, to generate friction, and phosphorus (yes, the match is in the box and not on the toothpick!) to produce intense heat. When we scratch the toothpick in the box, this trio of substances helps to produce a small spark
3 – In contact with the toothpick, the spark burns potassium chlorate, which releases a large amount of oxygen. This oxygen reacts with the paraffin that coats the toothpick. This combination generates a flame that consumes the stick’s wood for about 10 seconds.
Do it yourself: pocket campfire
2 – Place the stick on the board and, with your hands, start rubbing it over the board until a spark is generated. The spark will appear if the friction is fast enough.
3 – The straw will be the first to catch fire. When it’s on fire, take it to a bigger fire with plenty of straw to generate a big flame.