The rich history of the Zippo Lighter dates back to 1932 when George Blaisdell noticed his friend struggling to light his smoke with a lighter that emanated from Australia. Certain aspects of the Australian lighter worked well – such as the “chimney” that maintained a flame despite the wind, but it required two hands for operation and its construction was flimsy at best.
Blaisdell reconstructed the lighter, keeping the effective chimney intact, but enhancing the product by adding a small, rectangular case made out of more hardy material and attaching a hinged lid. The result was the aesthetically appealing, easy to use Zippo Lighter that is still popular today.
The difference today is that the selection of Zippo Lighters is enormous. If you are old school, you might opt for a replica Zippo, like the original Zippo Lighter, the WWII Zippo Lighter with black crackle finish or the slimmer Zippo Lighter model used in the 1950s.
By the way, did you know that Zippo Lighters were the first used in concerts in the 1960s to salute performers?!!! Then, in the 1970s, Blaisdell passed away, but his legacy endured, as Zippo Lighters expanded into overseas markets.
The year 2012 marks the 80th anniversary of Zippo Lighters and over 500 million sold, and as I started to say, there are hundreds of styles and colors available. Choose from Zippo Lighters with wildlife scenes, decorated with camo or depicting your favorite pet. There are Harley Davidson, Jack Daniels and Jim Beam Zippos. Zippos can come with comical sayings or pop culture, sports teams, armed forces or rock band graphics.
The list goes on and on and each is backed by Zippo Lighters’ famous lifetime guarantee. It only goes to show that durable, attractive, affordable engineering stands the test of time.
Zippo Lighters are available at BeBe’s Tobacco Outlet, your one-stop smoke shop located in Sebring, Florida.