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Before the invention of the friction match in the early nineteenth century, starting a fire reliably was slow and laborious, often requiring flint, steel, and dry tinder. Early chemical matches, tipped with volatile compounds, were dangerous to manufacture and could ignite unpredictably from friction or heat during storage and transport. Workers in match factories, particularly women and children who tipped matchsticks by hand, frequently developed a severe bone disease from prolonged exposure to white phosphorus fumes, a condition that became a notorious public health scandal and fueled early labor reform movements. Safer red phosphorus formulations, which required striking against a specially treated surface rather than any rough surface, were developed later and gradually replaced the more hazardous versions, though the transition took decades due to higher production costs and resistance from established manufacturers.