Flint
From the Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia that anyone can change
Flint, or flintstone, is a kind of igneous rock, which means that it came from a volcano. Flintstones often have a rough lumpy surface but when they are broken, they look like dull grease-coloured glass. It has been one of the most useful types of stone to humankind.
Flintstones were often used in prehistoric times to make stone tools. When flintstones are broken, they have a sharp edge which could be used as a knife, or a scraper.
When two flintstones are hit together, they can make a spark. For many centuries, flint was one of the main ways for people in many countries to make fire. People would carry a little box called a "tinder box" which had some flintstones and tinder. The tinder was used to catch the spark and start a fire. Tinder could be sawdust, cloth, grass or bark. Flints were used to make a spark to fire a gun. A gun that used flint was called a "flint-lock" gun.
Flintstones are used in some countries for building. In England the flintstones used for building were often "knapped" which means they were broken to show the inside. This made a nicer finish on the building that the dull knobbly stones.
 A flintstone |
 A flint dagger nearly 5000 years old, from Germany |
 A "flint-lock" on a gun. |
 The flintstone wall of a building in England |
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