Myth: Wet Matches Will Work Once Dried
- Survival Situation: Need For Fire
Building a fire when you’re staying overnight in the middle of nowhere will be pretty important. It does not matter if it is just a random camping trip or if you’re in a survival situation. The fire is literally what allowed humans to evolve to get where we are today. Therefore, it is smart to bring matches with you from the start. However, some are under the impression that as long as you do not light them and they are dry, all matches will magically work. This is one of the most critical survival myths people assume but are dead wrong about, at least in terms of getting normal matches wet. Of course, this comes down to chemistry more than anything else.
For your usual safety matches, there is a striking surface on the boxes made from something like powdered glass mixed with phosphorus. The heads of matches tend to have something similar, yet that also includes sulfur and some sort of oxidizer. The friction between the two upon striking the match does enough to create heat. The heat makes phosphorus into white phosphorus, which gives us fire. Yet if the match head is exposed to too much moisture, the chemicals change and cause the match to not light. If you’re going into a wet environment, always invest in waterproof matches and/or some sort of waterproof container to keep your matches.