Strike anywhere matches are matches which are designed to ignite when struck against a wide variety of surfaces. As anyone who has experimented with strike anywhere matches knows, the name is a bit of a misnomer; they work best when struck against rough, dry surfaces, and they will not literally ignite when struck against anything. Because strike anywhere matches are easy to ignite, they can be somewhat dangerous, and in some regions they are restricted items, out of concerns about spontaneous ignition or careless handling.

The earliest matches appear to have emerged in China, where people coated sticks with sulfur for the purpose of creating an igniter for fires. In Europe, lengths of cord which were saturated in flammable material were known as matches; these were designed for igniting cannons and guns, and we now know such devices as “fuses.” The modern friction match was invented in 1827 by John Walker, a British chemist, who realized that a mixture of certain chemicals would catch fire when struck against a surface. He got the idea of dipping a piece of wood in the mixture to create a self-contained lighting device.

These early matches were strike anywhere matches, in the sense that they would ignite when rubbed against a variety of things. In fact, these matches were a bit volatile, and they sometimes ignited spontaneously, leading to the development of safety matches in the 1840s. Safety matches have flammable materials but no chemicals which will ignite them; in order to get the matches to light, people must strike them against a specially designed surface which will create a spark.

After the invention of safety matches, strike anywhere matches became less common, although there were still plenty of uses for them. In the late 1800s, chemists developed a less volatile version, using a form of phosphorus which was not poisonous or explosive. Today, several match companies make strike anywhere matches along with safety matches, for consumers who prefer the convenience of strike anywhere matches.

Some strike anywhere matches are specially treated so that they will light when damp or in high winds. These matches are known as storm matches, and they can be especially useful. Many camping supply stores sell storm matches, and they are stocked in emergency kits in lifeboats and in other survival kits. Storm matches tend to be more expensive than regular strike anywhere matches, but their versatility can be well worth the cost.