26 Everyday Things Sweden Gave the World

Safety Match

Though matches weren’t invented in Sweden, until Gustaf Erik Pasch took a look at them, they were quite dangerous. With flammable phosphorous embedded in the match head, they easily burned the user. Pasch moved the phosphorous to the side of the match box and replaced the poisonous yellow phosphorous with a non-toxic red version. Thanks to his innovation, Sweden has at times produced upwards of 75% of global matches.