Zippo Trivia

Did you know that George G. Blaisdell invented the Zippo lighter in 1932 in Bradford, Pennsylvania?

• Zippo was given its name as a derivative of the word "zipper". Zippo inventor George G. Blaisdell liked the sound of the word "zipper", which had been patented in nearby Meadville, Pennsylvania.
• The original price for a Zippo was $1.95.
• Zippo started engraving initials and attaching metal insignias on lighters in 1935.
• The first patent for the Zippo windproof lighter was granted March 3, 1936. Patent Number 2032695.
• The basic concept of the Zippo windproof lighter has remained unchanged for 66 years.
• The first corporate logo decorated 500 lighters in 1936 for Zippo's cross-town Bradford neighbor, Kendall Refining Company.
• Zippo ran its first national advertisement in Esquire magazine in December 1937.
• Between 1934 and 1940 Zippo sold more than 300,000 lighters through the use of punchboard advertising. Considered a game of chance, punchboards were ruled illegal in 1940.
• The Zippo factory in Bradford, PA, produces nearly 70,000 lighters a day.
• Since 1932 Zippo has produced over 300 million windproof lighters.
• Zippo produces about 15 million lighters a year.
• Every Zippo metal product carries our famous Lifetime Guarantee: Any Zippo metal product, when returned to our factory, will be put in first-class mechanical condition free of charge, for Zippo has yet to charge a cent for the repair of a Zippo product, regardless of age or condition. The finish, however, is not guaranteed.
• In the late 1950s, a Zippo lighter was removed from the belly of a fish. The Zippo lit the first time.
• A penny has never been spent repairing a Zippo metal product.
• A regular size Zippo lighter weighs 2.05 oz.
• A slim Zippo lighter weighs 1.50 oz.
• There are 12 lighter collecting clubs around the world: 2 in the US, 1 each in England, Japan, and the Netherlands, 3 in Germany, 2 in Italy and 2 in Switzerland.
• 21% of the people who own Zippos are lighter collectors.
• Zippo has produced over 300,000,000 windproof lighters since 1932. If these lighters were laid end-to-end they would stretch halfway around the world or from New York City to Los Angeles 3 1/2 times.
• If all of the 300,000,000 Zippo lighters were laid side by side, they would pave the streets of Zippo's hometown, Bradford, PA, 1.8 times.
• All of these lighters would fill 122 football fields, including end zones.
• Zippo lighters are made in two locations, Bradford, Pennsylvania and Niagara Falls, Ontario. The location is stamped on the bottom of every Zippo lighter.

Zippo introduced:

• table lighters in 1938.
• loss-proof lighters in 1947.
• slim lighters in 1956.
• tape measures in 1962.
• pocket knives with money clips in 1964.
• greenskeepers in 1969.
• writing instruments in 1982.
• ZipLight^TM pocket flashlight in 1995.

Some items, once important in the Zippo product line, are no longer made. The list of "products from our past" from Zippo and its subsidiaries include:

• Zirenn, a skin protection ointment
• Zip-Slip, a zipper lubricant
• Imprinted golf balls
• Out-o-matic ashtrays
• Pill boxes
• Letter openers
• Magnifying glasses
• Standard table lighters