"Off grid power" seemed to be the most appropriate place to post this.
A few months ago, I was watching an episode of Hopalong Cassidy. It's a western that takes place in the 1800's.
This particular episode involved a mine. Hoppy went into the mine and came back out several times during the episode. He had a gadget about the size and shape of a standard flashlight, held horizontally. The first time I saw it, I thought it was a flashlight, then I thought, oh, wait, they weren't invented yet. At least, the kind that runs on batteries wasn't yet in existence.
I started watching closely. To turn it off, he flicked it off some kind of way, maybe something similar to the way you would do a battery flashlight. It was hard to tell exactly how, since those shows are in B&W and the picture isn't too crisp and clear.
To turn it on, it had some kind of built in striker. Presumably something similar to a Zippo lighter. Hoppy would hold it in just such a way, and flick with his thumb until it lit. It even sounded like a Zippo getting struck.
I have tried to google this gadget several times, and can't find exactly what it is. I can find miner's lanterns that you carry with a handle, and I can find kerosene head lamps, but nothing that looks like a flashlight. Does anyone have a clue?
As an addendum, I suppose it's possible it could have been using coal oil instead of kerosene, but I have zero experience with coal oil, so I don't know if it would strike that way. If it was kerosene, I didn't even know you could light kerosene with a small striker.
A few months ago, I was watching an episode of Hopalong Cassidy. It's a western that takes place in the 1800's.
This particular episode involved a mine. Hoppy went into the mine and came back out several times during the episode. He had a gadget about the size and shape of a standard flashlight, held horizontally. The first time I saw it, I thought it was a flashlight, then I thought, oh, wait, they weren't invented yet. At least, the kind that runs on batteries wasn't yet in existence.
I started watching closely. To turn it off, he flicked it off some kind of way, maybe something similar to the way you would do a battery flashlight. It was hard to tell exactly how, since those shows are in B&W and the picture isn't too crisp and clear.
To turn it on, it had some kind of built in striker. Presumably something similar to a Zippo lighter. Hoppy would hold it in just such a way, and flick with his thumb until it lit. It even sounded like a Zippo getting struck.
I have tried to google this gadget several times, and can't find exactly what it is. I can find miner's lanterns that you carry with a handle, and I can find kerosene head lamps, but nothing that looks like a flashlight. Does anyone have a clue?
As an addendum, I suppose it's possible it could have been using coal oil instead of kerosene, but I have zero experience with coal oil, so I don't know if it would strike that way. If it was kerosene, I didn't even know you could light kerosene with a small striker.
