This is way off topic, but this forum gets a load of traffic,
so I figure I'll find an answer here.

When I was a kid, there was this thing called an "Ohio Blue
Tip Match".
It was a stick match with a blue head, (and a light blue spot
on the top).
Their claim was that they could be struck anywhere, and
it was true. One could light the match by striking it against
any surface.
We used to use them like those triangular paper footballs from
school: we would hold them against the sidewalk at an angle,
kick (flick) them through the goal posts (upraised hands), and
they would light as you kicked them. What fun! :freak:
O.K. Maybe not so great for a third-grader to play with.
We were corrupted by the High School kid from next door.
It was his idea.

Anyway...

I would like to find these matches again, but have not seen them since.

Does anyone know if they still exist, and where one can obtain them?

I search for them, but invariably get results about Ohio,
dating match, and a blue dog.

Apparently the Ohio Blue Tip brand is no longer manufactured. Most large grocery and hardware stores still carry Diamond strike-anywhere matches, but they're crap. This source may be of some use:
http://www.instructables.com/forum/where-to-get-Strike-anywhere-matches/

Unfortunately, strike-anywhere matches are slowly being squeezed out of existence by the safety Nazis. (Oops, Godwin's Law strikes again!)

I used to fire them out of my Daisy air rifle. It was really cool to watch those babies strike the driveway when I was 10 years old.

Safety Nazis!! :mad:

Is it Safety Nazis or just the fact that matches aren't utilized nearly like they once were? With the decrease in smoking and the rise of cheap disposable lighters, I would think it was market forces more than anything else.

Well, the link scotpens posted has information that would
seem to suggest OSHA and safety concerns contibuted to
the demise of the stirke anywhere match.

I just found some on evilBay

A few years ago, I found out just how potentially dangerous those things are. I have an old "big" matchbox hanger in my kitchen to keep a box of Ohio Blue Tips or Diamond strike-anywheres. On day I pulled a match out of the box, several went spilling out. One stick lit itself while travelling down the wall behind the refrigerator and only quick thinking and adrenelin got me to pull the refrigerator out of the way and blow the match out in time to prevent my whole house from going up in flames.
After I put the refrigerator back into position, it occured to me that I could've merely filled a coffee cup with some tap water and spilled some on the flame to put it out.
I remember that my dad, a WWII Navy vet once told me that strike-anywhere matches were strictly forbidden aboard ship, and that incident showed me exactly why that was.
I still use them in my kitchen, but I've been doubly careful with them ever since that happened. :(

My family started Ohio Blue Tip Matches! No longer made :(

My family started Ohio Blue Tip Matches! No longer made :(
theres a story i'd like to hear!
Is it Safety Nazis or just the fact that matches aren't utilized nearly like they once were? With the decrease in smoking and the rise of cheap disposable lighters, I would think it was market forces more than anything else.
I'd imagine it was a combination of both. heck regular paper matchbooks are getting scarce! (btw, how many decades did we read "close cover before striking" until someone figured out to put the abrasive on the other side of the book!)

My family started Ohio Blue Tip Matches! No longer made :(Welcome to HobbyTalk. How did you find us? Were you Googling info on Ohio Blue Tip Matches and happen to come across this thread?

Oh, BTW, do you build models?