Matchbox Instruments: Tiny Flashlights for Any Emergency Beth Snyder May 2, 2016 Extras, News Depending on where you live, power outages are either something you never think about or something for which you are always prepared. Obviously if there is a terrible storm predicted you prepare ahead of time, but sometimes the power can go out without warning and you’re left stuck in the dark, fumbling around for a flashlight or a candle and matches. Sure, you could use the flashlight on your phone, but if the power is out for any great length of time you’re going to want to conserve your battery. That’s where MBI, or Matchbox Instruments, comes in. These are actually an amazing idea! It looks like any regular pack of matches, and measures about the same size. But instead of matches with sulfur tips that burn for mere seconds, these are tiny little LED flashlights that can provide light for up to eight hours each! The book comes with eight LED “matches”, which means you get up to 64 hours of light in one tiny little package. And no need to go searching for batteries! Better even than not needing batteries, though, is there being no open flame, which eliminates your risk of injury or property damage. They’re even waterproof and can be submerged, so if your power is out due to heavy rain and/or flooding they can still be used. You certainly can’t say that about a candle. When you need emergency light, just remove one of the matches from its holder and press its tip firmly against a hard surface. The LED is available in a variety of colours in case you’re not a fan of just plain white, and each one even has a magnetic base so you can stick it to something instead of having to hold it while you do other things. It appears that the case has a metallic strip on it so you don’t even have to go looking for something to stick it to. Check out the video to see MBI in action: [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gHjhzHUR19o] Matchbox Instruments has just successfully completed an Indiegogo campaign with 244% of their desired funding, but you can still pre-order today. If I’m reading it correctly, the Early Bird option is still open at $32.00 US, but if I’m incorrect the next option is $55.00 US. Expected shipping is this coming July, although as with any crowdfunded item that may or may not work out. Source: Gizmodo Share This With The World!
