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George G. Blaisdell invented the Zippo
lighter in 1932, and got his theme after learning about a large Austrian made pocket
lighter. Blaisdell was an oil rig engineer who saw a potential market for a good looking lighter
that would burn consistently even in the wind. He formulated the first Zippo
lighter in Bradford, Pennsylvania. It got its zippo identity as Blaisdell liked
the sound of the word zipper
A Zippo Lighter is a refillable, metal lighter. They are highly collectible
and hundreds of different custom zippo lighter designs have been made in the
70 years since their launching. From Solid gold Zippo lighters, to an
army zippo lighter
to a Hand-Carved wood Zippo, to a NFL Zippo lighter.
Zippos are occasionally rectangular
in design with a lid that flips open . Unlike single use polymer lighters that
are used and discarded in the trash, Zippos are replenished with a Naphtha based liquid zippo
lighter fuel. By sliding the interior portion out of the outer casing, its owner
can pour lighter fluid into a cotton packing material that contains a wick. The flint, which
brings on the spark of fire to light the cotton wick, can also be replaced.
It is cost effective and incredibly dependable. Refilling a dependable zippo lighter is a lot more inexpensive than
buying single use ignitors.
Zippos are considered windproof lighters, and are will remain
lighted in just about any wind or weather situation. They were very popular in the United States
army and navy, particularly during World War II military Zippo a military
zippo lighter was standard equipment for all soldiers in the Army, Navy, Air
Force and Marines. During that time, all Zippo lighters produced went to the
Allied war effort. In fact, during the conflict, as brass was needed for weapon systems,
the guts of zippos were created in stainless steel. Following the war,
Zippo reverted to the old brass
design.
Approximately 200,000 Zippo lighters were carried by U.S.
military personnel in the War in Vietnam. There is a story told where, a Zippo lighter
held in a shirt pocket halted a bullet from going in a soldiers heart.
Additionally, Zippos are known for the lifetime warrantee they posess: if a
Zippo fails, no matter how old, the company will replace or repair the lighter
for free.
Zippo currently faces two tough
challenges. Zippo has outstanding name recognition, originating from its function as standard
GI issue during World War II, and the Conflict in Vietnam, but the generation that transported
Zippo lighters into battle is flittering. The second challenge is that smoking
is loosing ground.
Nevertheless, Zippo has weathered the storm, as collectors have been the missing link to
firm growth. After all, cigarette or cigar smokers might purchase only one or two zippos--each
of which carries a lifetime guarantee. Plenty of 1940s-vintage Zippos still
turn up for fixes at the Zippo home office, which has fixed antique zippo lighters
discovered in the stomachs of fish and old zippo lighters pierced by lead bullets.
Collectors, all the same, often buy numbers of at a time, give them away, and encourage their
friends to become collectors. Many zippo
collectors have thousands of lighters in their zippo
lighter collection and keep on purchasing.
Collectors can gather up all of their favored sports teams including the National
football league, Major
league baseball, and the National
basketball association as well as motorsports
and fishing
Zippos.
It's a fact that more than 90% of US Citizens recognize the Zippo
brand, and 30% of Zippo's customers are collectors. While a basic brushed-chrome
Zippo runs $10.95, Collectible
Zippos typically ranges from $35 to $75, and some as high as $3,000.
Since 1933, over 400,000,000 Zippos have been ordered. After The Second World War
the Zippo grew to become more and more utilized in advertizements by companies large and small
through the decade of the 60's. Although new Zippo lighter designs are always emerging,
he basic interior mechanism of the Zippo has essentially stayed unaltered.
Zippo lighters have reached icon status, which generates the kind of positive public image
money can't acquire. Rolling
Stone Keith Richards, who smokes while performing, keeps a Zippo within an arms reach of his
guitar. Movie stars from Bruce Willis to Harrison Ford have carried Zippos to
inflame fuses, burn documents and papers and even to spark cigarettes.
Zippo is growing in other ways, too, with Zippo pens, belt buckles, and
money clips, Zippo
watches all with a lifetime guaranty.
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