It happens. While not as dangerous as an exploding disposable lighter, mainly due to the rugged cases and limited fuel, You do know about it <img src="/images/graemlins/blush.gif" alt="" />. Unless your getting the handmade lifeboat matches, the best plan is to keep your matches dry. The best brands employ a chemical mixture that will in time degrade. Maybe not as fast as our stored water, but they will. Safety matches were declared a HAZMAT item. The now exorbitant shipping costs forced many retailers to drop them from inventory. The old strike anywheres were discontinued because the heads were used in improvised explosives. The old nitrocellulose films were used this way in several revolutions and a few Federalis went up courtesy of Charlie Chaplin <img src="/images/graemlins/shocked.gif" alt="" />. Gear that needs a little mothering is not inferior. If you take the time to protect your matches, your less likely to wade blindly into a Yukon river without thinking first and might avoid drowning <img src="/images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" />