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Vice Blog

New York - The Evolution of 9/11 Chintz

We know we're a little past the sell-by-date on this one, but we couldn't let such a singular anniversary as Monday pass without taking into account where we are several years down the road. Five years ago when the first commemorative 9/11 lighters started slipping in from Southeast Asia and "outraging" our refined Western sensibilities, we were taken by the scope of the details but a little unimpressed by the craftsmanship. Not only does bin Laden look like a trimmed-down Paul Prudhomme, but the thing plays "Fur Elise" when opened. Um, could you make a little less sense, Orient? Then a year later, Palestine upped the ante with this grandiose little number, which better conveys Osama's general air of cheerful optimism as well as correcting the scaling problems. The only problem is the thing is fucking huge. You'd have to head down to the living room coffee table any time you needed a light. Either that or destroy your back.

Leave it to the Germans though, to finally whittle it down to perfection (scroll all the way down to the bottom). You've got a classy, streamlined design that doesn't beat you over the head with politics and can be put in a loose pocket, but is still big and jabby enough to serve as a constant reminder of our loss. It's like we've finally passed through our awkward baroque period and into the modern age of making fun of America's greatest tragedy.