George G. Blaisdell invented the Zippo® Windproof Lighter in 1932.
Mr. Blaisdell was nicknamed "Mr. Zippo" by famed World War II war correspondent Ernie Pyle.
The Zippo lighter was given its name as a derivation of the word "zipper" and because Zippo
inventor George G. Blaisdell liked the sound of the word "Zipper", which had been patented
in nearby Meadville, PA.
The original price for a Zippo lighter was $1.95.
Zippo started engraving initials and providing metal insignias in 1936.
The first patent for the Zippo windproof lighter was granted on March 3, 1936,
Patent Number 2032695.
The basic concept of the Zippo lighter has remained unchanged for the past 77 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 advertising in Esquire magazine in December 1937.
Between 1934 and 1940 Zippo moved more than 300,000 lighters through the use
of punchboard advertising. Considered a game of chance, punchhoards were ruled
illegal in 1940.
Zippo windproof lighters have been carried by GIs in every war from World War II to
Desert Storm.
The Zippo factory in Bradford, PA produces close to 80,000 lighters a day.
Zippo produces about 12 million lighters a year.
Every Zippo product is guaranteed with an unconditional lifetime guarantee:
Any Zippo product, when returned to its factory, will be put in first-class
mechanical condition free of charge, for Zippo has yet to charge a cent
for repair of a Zippo product, regardless of age or condition. The finish,
however, is not guaranteed.
Zippo introduced:
Every U.S. Navy Ship, from a small auxiliary vessel to a nuclear-powered
aircraft carrier, has her own custom designed Zippo windproof lighter.
In the late 1950s, a Zippo lighter was removed from the belly of a fish.
It lit the first time.
A cent has never been spent repairing a Zippo product.
A regular size Zippo lighter weighs 2.05 oz.
A slim Zippo lighter weighs 1.50 oz.
200,000 Zippo windproof lighters were used by Americans in Vietnam.
Vietnam-era Zippo lighters are highly prized collectibles.
There are an increasing number of lighter clubs around the world, including
several in the US, Italy, Switzerland and Germany, and others in England, Japan and The Netherlands.
21% of the people who own Zippo lighters are collectors.
Since 1932 Zippo has produced over 400,000,000 windproof lighters.
Zippo lighters are made in Bradford, Pennsylvania. The location is stamped on the bottom of every Zippo lighter.
