Interesting
trick. I've got to try it sometime. However, here's a much better way which is actually
useful:
Find a match with a large head and lots of phosphorus on the tip (if it's a strike anywhere match.) It doesn't really matter how big the head is, but the bigger it is, the easier it is. Set the match down on a table and get out your pocketknife. Push the knife down on the non-headed end in the first millimeter or so, and push just enough to break through. If you're lucky, you will now have one match with two ends. Very carefully, insert the knife between the two ends and move it towards the head. If you do this just right, it'll split into two halves, each with a little bit of head and phosphorus (if it's a strike anywhere match). If you don't have a knife, BTW, you can do it with your teeth. It's just a little harder.
How is this useful, you may ask? Think about it: Now you've got two matches! That's twice as many as you had before! If you're lost in the arctic, with nothing but a box of matches and your swiss army knife, you can build twice as many fires, and therefore live twice as long! Except that there are no trees in the arctic, so you really can't build any fires. But you sure will have a lot of matches!