Matchsticks

A man wanting to break the Guinness World Record for the tallest Eiffel Tower sculpture made of matchsticks suddenly saw his dream go up in flames after he was told that the material he used disqualified him for the record.Richard Plaud’s impressive creation amounted to 706,900 matchsticks, 4,200 hours of his life, and a goal to celebrate the most emblematic structure of his country’s capital.A resident of Charente-Maritime, a French department located in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, the talented artist believed he…

The modern matchstick was invented in the early 1800s. The initial iterations suffered from assorted defects like violent flares, rancid chemicals, and a tendency to cause factory workers’ jaws to rot. Once they ironed out the kinks, the little torches spread like wildfire. To distinguish themselves in a new competitive market, many companies began to sell their matchsticks in funky, colorful boxes. Among the attention-grabbing designs that now decorate phillumenists’ collections were boxes with puzzles. Some brands would…