All George G. Blaisdell wanted to do was create a lighter that would look good and be easy to use. He did. In fact, since his invention of the Zippo lighter 71 years ago, the company has produced 400 million windproof lighters. The company was founded in Bradford, Pennsylvania, in 1932 after Blaisdell obtained the rights for an Australian windproof lighter with a removable top and redesigned it. He made the case rectangular, attached the lid to the bottom with a welded hinge, and surrounded the wick with a windhood.

Since he liked the name of another new invention—the zipper—he decided to call his new lighter the “Zippo.” He also made the ingenious decision to back his product with a lifetime guarantee. For the most part, the company continues to use Blaisdell’s original design to manufacture its windproof lighters. The only changes have been improvements in the flint wheel and modifications in case finishes. And the company continues to stand by its lifetime guarantee that “it works or we fix it for free.”