Road Tripping in Pennsylvania – Zippo Lighter Museum
An unexpected stop at the Zippo Lighter Museum made my afternoon.
After visiting the Kinzua Viaduct, I still had hours of daylight left and no particular place to go. Pulling up the list of “favorites” on my GPS showed that there was a Whispering Giant less than 100 miles away in Dunkirk, NY.
True to form, I asked myself the question that helps me make decisions often: When would I be back in the area again?
The answer is almost always the same: Maybe never. And so Dunkirk, NY became my next see something destination.
As luck would have it, my route to Dunkirk would take me past Bradford, Pa. – Home of the Zippo Case Museum. Yes, Zippo as in the lighter.
You might find yourself asking why on Earth I would want to visit a lighter museum. And I don’t blame you. (Or is that… flame… you? Ahahahahahahahahaaaaaaa! Sorry.) On the surface it hardly seems like something that could hold your interest for 5 minutes.
As it turned out, seeing how the Zippo played a role in the lives of people and popular culture was unexpectedly interesting. Plus? This:
Do you see it? Look at it. LOOK AT IT! The Zippo car alone is worth the stop.
The attached gift shop, well, to be honest, it was more like the museum attached to the gift shop, makes about a bajillion lighters available. I ended up buying one with a picture of the Zippo car on it. That, a few postcards and a pen.
When you tilt the pen the Zippo car drives down the street. It reminded me of those naked lady pens I giggled about as a kid. You know the ones – where you tip it and the bathing suit drops off? Ooh la la.
My detour to the Zippo Museum was unexpectedly worth the stop. I pulled out of the parking lot happy.
Visit the Zippo Lighter Museum
Zippo Case Museum
1932 Zippo Dr
Bradford, PA 16701
I don’t know how you find this stuff. Maybe you are the living model for Google search… 😉
That was a fun read, thanks!
😀 I read lots of stuff on the internet – blogs, websites, travel mags and file away things to see later on. I also use Roadside America app which pulls up cool stuff by your current location.
Like Richard said, I don’t know how you find this stuff, but as the proud owner of a Zippo lighter (made in Canada for the Canadian Armed Forces back when smoking was an acceptable pursuit) I now have the Zippo Museum on my someday list.
Awesome, David 🙂 Is anything engraved on your Zippo?