David Matthews, age 11, of Round Lake, New York, for his question:

When were matches invented?

Modern type matches were introduced to the public about 130 years ago. These phosphorus type matches were patented by Alonzo Dwight Phillips of Springfield, Massachusetts, in the year 1836. At first, the new fangled strikers were made by hand and sold in boxes from door to door. This type of match was improved and led to the match making industry of today. The first phosphorus strikers, however, were not the first matches to be invented. But they were the first fairly safe matches.

The French invented the Ethereal Match, way back in 1781. It was a chemically treated twist of paper sealed in a bottle. When the glass was broken, oxygen ignited the paper iii a burst of flame. During the early 1800s, a modified version of this flashing flame was sold in America at a cost of 25 for a dollar. It was replaced by splinter type matches that gave off dangerous and foul smelling gases. By 1836, the world was indeed ready for Mr. Phillips to invent his fairly safe match.