I happen to think that the lowly Bic design is really clever. Those things have been around since forever and have acheived their own kind of design perfection. They’re cheap and reliable, the perfect example of a mass-produced need meeter. The only one I’ve ever heard of causing a fire is when a friend’s dad was welding and a piece of slag fell into his chest pocket where the lighter was.
But that said, Zippos are super cool. That sound they make is unmistakeable. I could hear it in my head as soon as the writer mentioned it in the article.