Va' rotoletto umile a riscaldare il parco cibo ai giovinetti eroi! (da Lo scaldarancio : Canto e pianoforte. Poesia di Giovanni Targioni-Tozzetti)

As soon as it was clear that the war would turn out to basically be a war of position, one of the so many problems to face was to find a fast and light fuel that could allow soldiers, far away from the refueling station, to warm their food. The scaldarancio was constituted by a pressed newspaper disc, soaked in paraffin oil; once it was lit, could three or four discs heat a soldier’s marmite. The scaldarancio was invented just for such purpose and its production generated the solidarity of many citizens who, gathered around many communities and proper associations, committed themselves to build these small cookers. Even though the National Committee for the Scaldarancio was very active, many local charitable associations were also created to raise funds, as well as to search for volunteers to produce discs, being its manufacture quite easy. Many scholars of primary and secondary schools, invalids and convalescents were committed in such job. In1916 more than 23 million discs were sent to the front.