Why is a flashlight called a flashlight ?

abvidledUK

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Anyone know ?

PS: Here in the UK we all know it's actually called a Torch !!
 

JonSidneyB

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It goes back to the first lights of its type was created in the USA.
The carbon cell batteries could only generate light for short periods of time.
It was only good for short flashes.

We retain the right to name it since it was invented here.

We tend to think of a torch as something that has flames.
 
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Nyctophiliac

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ABTOMAT said:
In the UK, if the villagers are going after Frankenstein's monster with pitchforks and torches, are they carrying Mag-Lites? :)
Villagers in the UK are much too apathetic to chase after anything at all!
Nice thought though.
 

Macaw

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Flashlight: Amer.Eng. for "electric torch," is from 1919.
Online Etymology Dictionary
 

Cliffnopus

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Nyctophiliac said:
Villagers in the UK are much too apathetic to chase after anything at all!
Nice thought though.
And if it's France, they just accept them and put them on the dole. :naughty:
 

Size15's

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I thought they were called flashlights because they could be flashed off.

Unlike today when flashlights can be flashed on the 'technology' breakthrough was to be able to flash the light by switching it off.


Why do we call them "torches"?
I guess we never got round to working out how to flash them...
 

raythompson

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I saw a show on the History Channel that talked about flashlights. The first battery lights that were used tended be of, shall we say, poor quality. The lights did not always work properly and tended to go on and off because of poor contacts. This caused the lights to flash on occasion. Some poor sap started calling the light a flashlight because of the flickering. The name stuck.
 

zespectre

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Why is a flashlight called a flashlight? See here

A combination of poor battery performance, primative bulbs, and momentary only switches. The light was "flashed" on briefly and then turned back off.
 

Perel

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ABTOMAT said:
In the UK, if the villagers are going after Frankenstein's monster with pitchforks and torches, are they carrying Mag-Lites? :)
I can see the thread now.. "Best flashlight for hunting mad scientist's creations?" :laughing:
 

Matsan

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Well,in Japan,flashlight is called "Kaichuu-dentou" .It means "Inner-breast-pocket light" , although these were too big to be put in an inner breast pocket in the old days :naughty:

Inner brest pocket was a metaphor as "small enough",I guess.

What is metaphorically expressed by "flash" in English? :huh2:
 

iamerror

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So we have to origin of the term flashlight... but what actually defines a flashlight? Size, function, form? Are keychain lights like the Photon called a flashlight or called a keychain light? Is a 6D Maglite too big to be a flashlight? What about a Arc AAA? Where is the boundary?
 

AlexGT

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Is that person a regular CPF member? He would be a great addition to a great forum. Found his Email "stuart at wordcraft.net" just replace the at for @

AlexGT

zespectre said:
Why is a flashlight called a flashlight? See here

A combination of poor battery performance, primative bulbs, and momentary only switches. The light was "flashed" on briefly and then turned back off.
 

H_Alpha

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Interesting site, except for the disinformation that should not be propagated.......
Volta had an electric pile (battery) going around 1800 ... who knows who else might have been playing with them. (Where do you think volts and piles (pila) come from?)
And, Edison most certainly did not invent the incandescent lightbulb.....
I quit reading after that .... though some neat pic's.
 

JonSidneyB

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I have met him, Roth and I went to a flashlight collectors event that he hosted in Minnesota.

We had a table there with lights on it.
 

abvidledUK

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abvidledUK said:
Anyone know ?

PS: Here in the UK we all know it's actually called a Torch !!

To answer my own question:

Found this on the Energizer FAQ site..... http://www.energizer.com/products/faq.asp?q=42#42


How did the flashlight get its name?
When the flashlight was first invented, battery power was still in its infancy and there wasn't a source strong enough to power the flashlight for a long period of time. Users pushed a button to literally "flash light" on the path in front of them, shining the light for just a moment. Hence, we have the name we use today—flashlight.
 
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