I spent a lot of time as a kid learning skills that were technically unnecessary for me, but would have been essential to my ancestors. Skills like weaving, making cough syrup or dyeing wool using local herbs, flint knapping, bow making, that sort of thing (yes, my parents were very tolerant!). One of the skills I never did manage (and I bet the local fire department was grateful) was making a fire using only friction.
If you’ve seen Tom Hanks try this in Castaway, you’ll know that it isn’t as easy as it looks.
If this is the sort of thing that catches your attention, as it does mine, this article might interest you.
Fire by friction is a testament to human ingenuity, contributing to the development of early technology and a later understanding of physics, chemistry and heat transfer.
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J.R. Johnson 
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