Grab a handful of sand, heat it up to a few thousand degrees and suddenly, presto change-o, whaddaya got? That’s right, friend: a handful of glass and one severely burned paw.
Now, how incredible is the fact that glass is made from sand? I mean, think about it: there aren’t many things you can’t see through that turn into things you can see though. It just doesn’t happen. Water isn’t made from mud, radio waves aren’t evaporated rainbows, and Crystal Pepsi isn’t just a pot of regular Pepsi stirred really fast.
I mean, can you imagine the first time somebody made glass? For a while there’s just an old cauldron hanging over the fire with some sand sizzling in the bottom, and then suddenly it’s clink, clink, clink and there are marbles rolling around in there. Now I wasn’t there, but I imagine whoever was had a great bar story for a few weeks.
Glass is so solid, stoic, and sophisticated, too — unlike that annoyingly pliable and chemical-leaching heathen, plastic. I mean, apparently the empty plastic cottage cheese container you reheat your leftovers in can fill your meal with a pile of hormones and chemicals that could mess you up. Yeah, seriously. But that’s not so with glass, because glass is a solid fighter and ain’t going to fall apart at the sight of a few measly microwaves.
So, have you ever looked through a window or watched TV? Do you wear glasses, do you take pictures, do you pour steaming fluorescent liquids into beakers in chemistry labs? If so, have you peeked into a telescope or microscope when you were in there? If not, have you ever admired the stained glass on the side of a church, or enjoyed a cold brewski in a beer bottle or some bubbly in a champagne flute? Is your house insulated with fiberglass? Does your fish swim in an aquarium? I ask you, friend: are you sitting under a light bulb … right … now?
And if so, if any of these things, then I say smile, flash a thumbs up, and give some serious props to glass — that durable, industrious, dishwasher-safe friend who’s always there when we need it most.
AWESOME!
Glass – AWESOME – yes. But you’re wrong about one thing: Crysal Clear Pepsi is just a pot of regular Pepsi that has been stirred really fast. All you need is a centrifuge and that stupid Van Halen song playing in the background and…insto presto…PFM!
The centrifuge/Van Halen trick also works for turning coffee grounds into sea salt and motor oil into plasma. It’s science. (drwizard.wordpress.com)
I have to hang my head in shame, and say that I didn’t exactly read this entire post. I saw the can of Crystal Pepsi and got lost in the hopes and dreams of it’s return LOL.
Mr. T Stained glass?!?!?!
I pity the fool who doesn’t love glass!
If I saw a church with a stained glass window of Mr. T, I would walk straight in, give them all of my possessions and live the life God wanted me to!
Glass is awesome. I mean, you can buy glass in almost any color and it got that color due to the adding of a mineral. Unless it’s green…that’s just the color of glass.
There are some wonderful pieces of coloured glass which were made by colouring with radioactive minerals before such things were known to be dangerous. Wonderful pieces of craftsmanship which are classified as nuclear waste because it’ll be a brazilian years before they’re safe to pour a glass of water from. This fact always makes me sad for reasons that I can’t really identify.
What are “brazilian” years? You have to live in Brazil for the glass to age? I don’t know, I just found that funny. I think you meant “bazillion”, though is that even really a word?
Brazilian years are actually quite short–filled with samba and sun.
It’s a Wisconsin year that’s frozen in time.
And the fact glass bottles can be recycled forever!!!
Yes, glass is remarkable.
I love the craft created from sand and lightening rods in the movie “Sweet Home Alabama.”
The house I was brought home to at birth had gorgeous stained glass. The neighbor kids called it the Frankenstein house. Though I never understood then and would years later learn why, it is now a Vancouver heritage home!
I’ve broken so much glass in my life, I should have shares;)
Bajillion?
Yup, glass is great. Solid. Unlike flimsy stupid plastic. And…doesn’t looking at a clear, fat jar of cookies better than staring at some plastic-covered pack of cookies at the grocery store?
This was a great post, thanks for the info.
fdg grgrebnhg hyt
LOVE IT yes glass is awesome from both a wonderment and a nerdy point of view (did you know you can make glass from 80% lead, that you can still see through, and it can protect you from radiation while you look through it?) but my absolute favorite part is Mr. T stained-glass window. AWESOME!
Made my boring day just that bit less boring !
Who could live without glass!!