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interesting candle information

In England, the number produced from a pound of wax was used to name the candles; for instance "eight" candles weighed 8 to a pound, "twenties" weighed 20 to a pound, etc.This came from the candles used by the miners in coal mines in the mid 1800's. The miner had to find his own candles to light his work and way, and it was supposed that a small candle would not so soon set fire to the fire-damp in the coal mines as a large one; and for that reason, as well as for economy's sake, he had candles made of this sort - 20, 30, 40, or 60 to the pound.

Michael Faraday's  (1791-1867) lectures of 1860 regarding the Chemistry of A Candle.  There are many interesting historical details about the origins of candles, the materials used in candle making of that time, as well as a detailed technical discussion about chemistry and physics.