Re: matches, longevity of

On Nov 6, 7:35 pm, Islander <nos...@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Rumpelstiltskin wrote:
On Tue, 06 Nov 2007 10:51:53 -0800, mg <mgkel...@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:

On Nov 3, 9:54 am, Rumpelstiltskin
<PleaseDoNotReplyByEm...@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
I hardly ever use matches except to light the pilot light
on the stove when it goes out. Therefore, I keep a
number of books of matches in a plastic baggie near
the stove. Some of the books have been in there for a
very long time. When I take out a pack, I test a match
first to see if it will light. Often, it won't, and then I throw
the whole pack out because almost surely none of the
matches in that pack will light.

There's not much middle ground between packs from
which the matches light easily and packs from which
the matches won't light at all. That dichotomy makes
me think that some kinds of matches become
ineffective after a time, whereas other kinds don't.
I suspect you would have a hard time ever getting a good answer to
that question. My knee-jerk guess is that it might be a quality issue.
If a wholesaler sells match books by the millions, he might be able to
increase profits by skimping on quality.

Yeah. My situation is unusual, since most people don't
have packs of matches hanging around for years.

Many consumer products that one buys has a little package of a
moisture absorber agent in it. You might try putting a package or two
of that stuff in the bag.

It's matchbooks, though. If I need more, I can just ask
the people at the deli when I get a sandwich, since they
also sell cigarettes.

Another idea might be to buy one of those flint-operated barbeque-type
lighters. I've had one of those for at least 10 years and it still
works. I use it to light those scented-candle things that my wife used
to like to burn on Christmas, etc.
http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&client=firefox-a&channel=s&rls=...

I could get one of those, but it's another piece of junk.
I already feel inundated by junk. The cat would probably
hide it. I bought him two superballs three days ago,
which he lost, then two more two days ago which he also
lost, then another one (the last one the variety store had)
yesterday, which all went missing but I did find one of the
earlier superballs. There aren't all that many places they
could be. I don't understand where the cat's losing them.
I was downtown yesterday and looked in a toy store for
some ping-pong balls, since I thought they might be
harder to lose. I couldn't find any. They're probably
one of those items that offer so little profit to stores that
hardly anybody stocks them. The toy store didn't even
have small superballs. I wouldn't want to get a big
superball for my cat, since it could hurt him.

Here is an idea for your cat that he won't lose. My wife and I started
a small business when we first got together and sold "The World's
Greatest Cat Toy." It is nothing more than a plastic squid that you can
pick up at any fishing store, a lead weight purchased at the same place,
and an length of string about 5-6 ft long. Hang it on a door jam with
the squid at a level that is convenient for the cat. Cats love it and
will play with it for hours. Hanging it on a door jam allows the squid
to go out of sight around the corner and seems to increase the enjoyment
for the cat. One word of caution. You might want to put it up at
night. Cats can be nocturnal and the thump, thump of the toy in the
middle of the night can be annoying.

I bought a toy for my dog once (Lab Mix) and hung it from a tree in
the back yard on a bungee cord. She took one look at it and stuck up
her nose and never played with it. A few weeks later a friend of mine
dropped by and I untied it from the tree and gave it to her. Her
miniature Snaughzer went nuts over it when she tied it to one of her
trees, thus redeeming my intellectual self esteem and proving that I'm
smarter than a dog after all, or at least some of them.

.

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