Candles have a deep history. When you look at the history of the world it’s been relatively recent that candles have not been needed for lighting purposes. The type of candle that resembles our modern-day candle was invented nearly 5,000 years ago! This article will peruse the history of candle making.
Let’s start by breaking down the history of candle making into two time blocks. Block one is pre-electricity. Block two is post- electricity.
Electricity ends up being the time divider for the history of candles because electricity truly changed the point of burning a candle. The purpose of burning candles before electricity was to give light. The purpose was strictly utilitarian. Once electricity was conducted a candle’s function was unessential. And so, candles were more for fun, than for necessity.
So how were candles made during the pre-electric era? Wax was always used to create candles but early candles were anything but rosy. These candles were made from animal fat extracted waxes. As you can imagine, these candles had a horribly pungent smell. In addition to this drawback, they burned black smoke.
A little later in history, Colonial Americans devised a new kind of wax made from bees. Bees wax was more pure than lard burning candles, however, bees wax was still difficult to mold. The perfect wax would need to burn clear, odorless and be easy to work with.
Little did the world know that the discovery of electricity was right around the corner. 1752 was the year that Benjamin Franklin discovered electricity. Then Thomas Edison found a medium for electricity but it wasn’t until 1872 that the light bulb was invented. After this, slowly but surely candles were not needed to produce light anymore.
Unsurprisingly, with the technological advancements of electricity, the candle world was also evolving. Around the same time as all of this new progress, people were inventing more efficient waxes for candle burning. Paraffin was invented at this time. And since that time forth chemical engineers have continued to perfect waxes for candle making.
Nowadays, since candles are not a necessity for seeing in the dark, candle making has become a leisure activity. And with candles’ new recreational role, they have become a fun pastime, and/or business opportunity for people around the world.
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