Well, the Solitaire story is an interesting one. The former Common Law wife of the owner of Maglite designed it. It's an excellent light now, as an LED model. Back in the day, she apparently thought her design was awesome! I guess our dude wanted to keep her happy and keep getting that sweet lovin.' So, into production it went. Considering the accessory that came with it, it was specifically designed to be put on your keychain for an even longer length. So you could light up a keyhole, then use your attached keys to open the door. Oddly, that lanyard accessory is still supplied today with the LED version.Just want to talk a small bit about the Maglite Solitaire. Definitely not short. So not a good one to use for this topic. But, I wanted to add, originally, the Solitaire was such a poor light; anemic beam, hardly useful. The LED version, however, though not super bright, is quite okay. Far better than before. I have one...that doesn't get used at all. LOL