Newspapers / The Echo (Pisgah Forest, … / Aug. 1, 1952, edition 1 / Page 8
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AMERICA . . . LAND OF THE FREE ... BOOK MATCHES The American people, who have a higher standard of living than any other country in the world, have long taken many things for grant ed. This is only natural, since we come into con tact with and use many items day after day. Millions of smokers, for instance, never think of the intricate process of making the cellophane that keeeps fresh the package of cigarettes, and then give no thought to the tedious work that is required to give them the finest cigarette paper possible. After these smokers have removed the cello phane from the package, removed one of the cig arettes, and are ready to light-up, they still have only one thing in mind—the enjoyment of smok ing their favorite brand. We at Ecusta are familiar with cellophane and cigarette paper, but what of the matches that we use to light our cigarettes? A recent survey showed that 98 percent of Book matches are made on endless chain machines which, every 60 minutes, convert rolls of paper, pre-treated to prevent afterglow, into more than a million matches. The machine slices the paper into "combs” of 60 matches each. These "combs” then ride the chain through two dips which (1) apply to the lighting end of the match a collar of paraffin, thereby improving ignition and (2) create the brightly colored heads. smokers carry match books, and 73 percent ex plain that they’re the most convenient light. Three people out of eight can narhe off hand the ad vertisement on the matchbook in their pocket. Half the 500 billion matches used in the Unit ed States every year are given away free. The 250 billion free lights are stapled between the match book covers which advertise tens of thousands of businesses ranging from the tiny corner store to such industrial giants. The genius of American engineers, salesmen and factory workers is responsible for putting the everyday match book into the pockets and purses of 63 million Americans today. Production tech niques and the use of match cover space for pro motion of products and services, allow Americans to use more matches than people of other na tions, at the world’s lowest per capita cost—about 31 cents a year per person. It took 56 centuries from the earliest record of 6
The Echo (Pisgah Forest, N.C.)
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Aug. 1, 1952, edition 1
8
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