If the pocket where you keep your Zippo becomes wet, the lighter may not operate. Strangely, I've seen them in rainstorms with moderate winds. They will ignite as long as the wick, striker, and flint are dry, but if any of those are damp, they will not light. The pocket can be dried out with a clean cloth or put in a hot dry place for about 24 hours. The first Zippo was made in 1933 by Gilbert V. Ziglar (1893-1949) of Louisville, Kentucky. He had been working at an insurance company when he came up with the idea for the cigarette lighter while waiting for a train to come in. Unable to find anything like it on the market, he decided to make his own. Using parts from old cigar lighters, oil lamps, and even kitchen stoves, he came up with the first practical disposable cigarette lighter. Ziglar's father wanted him to go into business with another man, but Gilbert refused. He knew that he could succeed on his own so he quit his job and started Zippo Inc. today. Although he never sold a single lighter, he proved himself to be very talented at marketing them. By 1937, one in every three lighters sold in the United States was made by Zippo. In 1951, Ziglar died in an automobile accident at the age of 55. His wife Anna and two children were also killed.