Commemorative Zippo Lighters

                        Photo Courtesy of NASA

     The historic flight of Apollo 11 was launched on July 16, 1969.  After entering lunar orbit, astronauts Edwin E. Aldrin Jr. and Neil A. Armstrong, transferred to the Lunar Module.  Micheal Collins remained in lunar orbit following separation, piloting the command and service module.  The Lunar Module descended to the surface of the moon on July 20th, landing near the edge of the Sea of Tranquility.  A few hours later, Armstrong descended the ladder and at 10:56 pm EDT stepped onto the surface of the moon.  His first words were, "That's one small step for man, One giant leap for mankind."

     This Zippo is extraordinary.  It was made in 1969, of course, to commemorate man's first setting foot on the moon.  The design has been painstakingly produced using 10 colors: Dark Gray, White, Light Blue, Dark Blue, Light Raw Ochre, Black, Red, Light Gray, Middle Gray, and Raw Ochre.  The design requires 14 screens (patterns) to etch the lighter and add the color to the picture.  The result is an almost photographic quality capturing an important moment in America's History.

     In 1976, The United States celebrated 200 years of independence from England.  With the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the U.S.A. was well on it's way to becoming the great nation that it is today.  To help commemorate this triumphant accomplishment The Zippo Corp. created this Zippo in brilliant Red, White, and Blue.

In 1932, the first Zippo lighter saw the light of day.  Ten years later, one million lighters had rolled off the production line.  In '69, the 100 million mark was reached.  On April 15, 1996 the total topped 300 million.  Three hundred million Zippos would pave a football field, including the end zones, to a depth of over 5 feet.  Laid end to end, they'd stretch a little over 10,720 miles - that's over 1/25 of the way to the moon.  To commemorate this accomplishment Zippo produced the above pictured 300 Million Zippo.  An absolutely beautiful tribute to a lifetime of producing lighters that last a lifetime.

Above information taken from a pamphlet produced by the Zippo Manufacturing Company.

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