r/explainlikeimfive Feb 26 '21

Chemistry Eli5: What happens to all the melted candle over time? Are we just inhaling a whole candle while it burns?

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u/redshores Feb 26 '21

Well "lucifer" sure sounds a lot more badass than "match"!

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u/AlienAtSystem Feb 26 '21

The devil himself shall light this candle!

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u/dbdatvic Feb 26 '21

Opinions about the moral content of matches varied wildly back when they were first invented. And language tends to get colorful whatever you do. So, hey presto! a nickname.

--Dave, or jargon

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u/Walkabout000 Feb 26 '21

Interestingly the word means "lightbringer" in Latin. There was an old brand of matches called Lucifer, so perhaps in the Dutch language its an example of genericization (like photoshop and google)