Fire - our worst enemy, our best friend - was difficult to create until Robert Boyle invented the match in 1680. Although fire could be made by rubbing sticks together or by striking flint to steel, this was a time consuming process. Boyle discovered that when phosphorus and sulfur were rubbed together, they would burst into flame. Boyle knew that this was not because of friction, but because of chemical nature of these two substances. Although convenient, Boyle's matches were not very safe, because sometimes they accidentally went up in flames while in a pocket. (Warm surprise!) With some improvements and a little fine tuning, this invention led to your modern safety match many years later.