Innovation in the match industry

I had to laugh recently when I bought a box of matches. The box cover proclaims: NEW LOOK! Same Great Product.

I must admit, I was a bit confused when I first opened the box. It was filled with little sticks of blond wood ("the highest quality Aspen wood" according to the box) with some red stuff and a white tip at one end. I'd expected some matches, but I'd never seen anything like this!

Or, was the "new look" a reference to the packaging? Well, I went to the Diamond Web site (yes, even matches have a Web site, though I didn't find a blog or Facebook page; they'd better get with it.) They don't have a definitive history of their logo, but the red and blue box with a diamond shaped logo has been used since the company was founded in 1881. I also learned that, in 1910, Diamond patented the first nonpoisonous match in the U.S. The next year President Taft asked Diamond to release the patent, which it did "for the good of mankind."

It may not really be a new look, but the matches work fine. They're fueled by the "Diamond Ignition System," you know.