"The Glowing Jaw - The deadly price of the first instant fire" tells the horrific story of the Victorian matchstick industry. In the 19th century, the invention of the "lucifer" match brought instant fire to the masses. But the active ingredient, white phosphorus, was a slow-acting poison. The women and girls who dipped the matches in factories developed "Phossy Jaw"-a condition where the jawbone would rot, glow green in the dark, and eventually kill them.Historian Emily Strike chronicles the suffering of these workers and the historic Matchgirls' Strike of 1888. Led by teenage girls, this...
"The Glowing Jaw - The deadly price of the first instant fire" tells the horrific story of the Victorian matchstick industry. In the 19th century, the...