How is it that this cigarette lighter is still working?

In the winter of 2005, my girlfriend gave me a see-thru lighter from the Bally’s casino in Las Vegas. It kind of looks like these. It has the push-button thing where you have to push down (rather hard) on the top to make the flame, rather than striking the flint and then the gas as you do on a Bic. Anyway, I have been using this lighter all the way from then up until now. I don’t smoke cigarettes, or weed anymore - I just use it to light incense basically.

But I don’t understand how it’s still working. All of the liquid was used up from the inside of it a month ago. Yet, I still use it, maybe 3 times a week to light incense. Is it running on vapors or something?

Vapors or magic. You’ll have to make up your own mind as to which it is.

I don’t know how much fuel is left in gaseous form in an apparently empty lighter, but I’m sure someone could calculate it, and that it’d explain your experience.

Perhaps a significant portion of the fuel has been stored in some sort of wick.