This one is certainly no stranger to you guys. Founded in the Keystone State in 1932, there have been over 500,000,000 lighters produced. Like a lot of other products (Randall Knives for one), they received a lot of popularity in the wars. Servicemen in WWII (almost all of whom smoked) would give just about anything to get their hands on one. It got to be such a demand that the government started buying them and issuing them. Mostly the black crackle kind like in my last ESEE run. In case anyone's looking for a last minute Christmas gift....
Very few people smoke any more (compared to the 50's and 60's) so Zippo has moved into other products. I have come to really appreciate the Zippo Handwarmer when sitting in a deer stand. Also, for those that don't know, Zippo owns another Keystone company: Case. I think a few of you have some Case knives.
