The candles shown above were used in the Victorian era, and they are kind of genius. The box they came in had a hole just the right size to be a candle holder. The candles themselves sometimes came with a phosphorus coating on the exposed wick, so that they could also be their own match. They are described as “brothel candles,” because they were used in Victorian houses of ill repute as a timer. Light a candle when you go behind doors with a client, and when the candle is completely melted seven minutes later, his time is up.
Except that there is no truth to those last two sentences at all. Victorian prostitutes had their own watches and clocks that didn’t need to be replenished. Besides, seven minutes is a long time when there are others waiting and money to be made. The brothel candle is a myth, a sexy story to tell, but that doesn’t mean these candles aren’t interesting in their own way. Read the real purpose of what were once called pocket candles at Fake History Hunter. -via Strange Company
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Source: neatorama