From: Aims Education Foundation on 12/3/2005
               Source: http://www.aimsedu.org/Puzzle/3to5/index.html

In the 19th century matches were first manufactured. Invented in 1827 by the British chemist John Walker, matches soon replaced the tinderboxes that people had formerly used to light fires. As matches grew in popularity and became ubiquitous later in the 19th century, they spawned a new form of entertainment—matchstick puzzles—that became quite popular when several match companies printed these puzzles on their boxes. Capitalizing on this interest, publishers began to print books of match-stick puzzles. By the turn of the 20th century, many people had developed a personal repertoire of these puzzles and used them to challenge friends and acquaintances. The toothpick puzzle presented here is modeled after these classical matchstick puzzles.