The Match Was a Terrifying Discovery
A terrifying breakthrough led to the accidental discovery of the match. John Walker, an English pharmacist, had a new mixture containing antimony sulfide and potassium chlorate. He got it on the end of his mixing stick. He tried to scratch it off, and instead of getting it off, it burst into flames. That doesn’t sound like something we’d want to experience, but then again, it changed the world. We’ll let other people handle that discovery (My New Lab).