# Is the meth cooking depicted in Breaking Bad legit? (No spoilers, please) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** tv-shows-scripted\ **Created:** [February 2, 2022, 11:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-meth-cooking-depicted-in-breaking-bad-legit-no-spoilers-please/958790 "2022-02-02T11:09:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Skunkdog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c2a13f/32.png) [@Skunkdog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skunkdog)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2022, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-meth-cooking-depicted-in-breaking-bad-legit-no-spoilers-please/958790/81 "2022-02-12T16:33:03Z")
I could have sworn it was the match heads but it may have been the striker pads. I just remember buying several boxes of matches and having to open the batteries up to get to the lithium strips. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2022, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-meth-cooking-depicted-in-breaking-bad-legit-no-spoilers-please/958790/82 "2022-02-12T16:41:00Z")
> [@Esprise\_Me](#): > > were you maybe using strike-anywhere matches I suspect that this may have been the case. It seems to me that it could be easier to hold a match vertically pressed against a flat surface and use a razor blade to cut down the side of the bulge at the head to get at the phosphorous, rather than trying to scrape the coating off a flat piece of cardboard. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2022, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-meth-cooking-depicted-in-breaking-bad-legit-no-spoilers-please/958790/83 "2022-02-12T17:53:07Z")
Strike-anywhere matches have been hard to find for most of my lifetime, not because of their use in making meth, but because they’re a fire hazard. ---
**Author:** ![GargoyleWB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gargoylewb/32/199_2.png) [@GargoyleWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GargoyleWB)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2022, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-meth-cooking-depicted-in-breaking-bad-legit-no-spoilers-please/958790/84 "2022-02-12T18:48:37Z")
There’s a new drug on the street that hits you like you’ve tugged on Superman’s cape. Kids are calling it Messing with Jim. -Ice T, Law and Order [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-meth-cooking-depicted-in-breaking-bad-legit-no-spoilers-please/958790.md?page=4)