5 things players didn't know about the torch in Minecraft

Torches in Minecraft are among the most critical items in the game. They allow players to navigate the treacherous night-time early on in the game due to their cheap and easily obtainable nature.

Torches are one of the oldest items in the game, added back in classic Minecraft over 11 years ago. Although, at first glance, the humble torch may seem simple enough, it's actually an item with quite a deep lore behind it.

---

Five facts about the Minecraft torch that players might not know

#5 - Torches used to have an obscure dark texture

Torches in the classic version of Minecraft looked very strange

Early on, within the classic version of Minecraft, Notch first implemented the inventory texture for Minecraft torches as a small dark object that almost resembles the modern-day Minecraft lever texture.

Luckily, this weird torch texture did not last for long, and the current torch inventory texture was born a few months later, which is still part of the game over 10 years later.

---

#4 - Notch almost made torches burn out in the rain

Notch was very close to making torches more realistic

In the large Halloween update of 2010, Notch had initially planned to make torches much more realistic. The plan was to make torches burn out in the rain, and if they were left out for a while, similar to real life.

However, it seems that Notch had a change of heart at the last minute, and this feature was abandoned. Players might be upset to hear this, but it likely would have made the game significantly more difficult. This is primarily because hostile mob spawning is based on light levels.

---

#3 - Players used to be able to place torches on leaves

Torches used to be placed upon leaves in a very strange fashion

During the early days of Minecraft, specifically within the early "indev" phase, players could place torches on the sides of leaves.

If this wasn't strange enough, this was only possible if players had their graphics set to "fancy" mode. Of course, this peculiar quirk has since been removed from the game, and torches can no longer be placed on the sides of leaves.

---

#2 - A torch can be used to pick up the Ender Dragon egg

This trick is somewhat well-known among knowledgeable Minecrafters. Still, it might come as a shock for those unaware that the humble torch can be the key to unlocking access to the elusive Ender Dragon egg.

The process behind obtaining the dragon egg is straightforward. All that players need to do is force the egg to fall on top of a torch naturally. This act will cause the egg to drop and subsequently break, allowing players to pick it up and later place it back down at their will.

---

#1 - Torches can be used to easily fend off spiders

Torches can be used to calm spiders down

While it's commonly thought among some Minecrafters that spiders only become hostile during the night time, in reality, this is not strictly true.

Due to the unique way Minecraft is programmed, spiders only rely on the levels of light around them to decide whether to act hostile or not.

Players can leverage this fact to their advantage by surrounding themselves with torches to raise their local light level. This will ultimately mean that spiders will leave them alone, even at night!