To find their way during dark nights, human beings have always needed portable light sources. And while candles, lanterns, kerosene lamps and oil lamps are simple and effective, they have always posed the danger of infernos.

It can therefore be said that flashlights were the first superiorly safe portable sources of light. Additionally, flashlights unlike other portable devices, do not give off smell and they emitted less heat.

According to History of Lighting, an education platform on artificial sources of light, the first flashlight was invented by English inventor David Misell in 1899. This was after the massive production of dry cell batteries began in 1896. The flashlight gained its name from the fact that it couldn’t stay on for too long and it had to be turned off from time to time to allow it to ‘rest’.

The first flashlights had carbon filaments and crude dry cells. This made them inefficient and expensive, leading to low sales at the start. This is according to Wikipedia, the online encyclopedia.

However, in 1910, according to Idea Finder an education platform, the tungsten filament bulb was developed and improved batteries were made. This increased the efficiency and consequently the popularity of flashlights by a large margin. The popularity of lanterns, house lamps and candle lamps made of tungsten also increased.

A 1916 brochure by Eveready, an American energy company said their flashlight did not flicker or go out in the wind and was easy to use because it could be turned on using finger pressure. Still, the original name ‘flashlight’ stuck and it is one interchangeably used with the word ‘torch’.

The original flashlight was made of three D-sized batteries placed in a tube and they had a simple switch. According to Just Batteries, a batteries manufacturer, the same designed was used until 1922 when different torch designs emerged. Cylinder-shaped torches, lantern-shaped, reflector types, head lamps and flashlights that were small enough to fit in one’s pocket were made.

Today’s torches do not vary a lot in shape and make from those of 1922. However, they are more flexible as regards their energy system. With the introduction of rechargeable lighting in 1967, torches can be charged using solar energy or hydroelectricity. However, battery-operated torches are also still common as they are often found to be the cheaper option.

With increased access to solar and hydroelectricity in people’s homes, torches are usually preserved for blackouts and outdoor activities such as camping.