As a fan of glassblowing, this piece just rings the Bell!
Sand is genius in the small. It is funny how it is visible yet so invisible when transformed. Who could guess sand is the origin of glass or chips?
There are so many products using nature as a foundation. Examples of such a drastic transformation, well... It's Monday I am still weekendish so I will pass on this one Andrew.
Lithium. A readily-available salt. Which most people know because of lithium-ion batteries. Which are mostly nickel. Why they aren't called nickel-ion batteries is above my paygrade.
a few years back for whatever reason, I read a bit about the glassmakers of Venice. It's quite a romantic story, how they came up with the techniques they used to make Venetian glass. Astounding stuff, glass.
I remember that one of the premier glassmakers was a woman, which was very rare in those times. And also that the glassmakers were confined to a particular section of Venice -- over a bridge and isolated from the rest of the city -- because the processes that they used were so dangerous that they frequently blew themselves up and the city government didn't want them to set the rest of Venice on fire.
I don't think I ever read a book. I got interested in it because I was listening to sleep stories on the Calm app, and that one had me riveted (to the point where I didn't fall asleep) and that inspired me to do a bit of extra research.
While there are a lot of fascinating facts here, I feel it is my duty to inform you that I'm stealing "Annoyance Ninja" as my new official job title. Thanks!
As a fan of glassblowing, this piece just rings the Bell!
Sand is genius in the small. It is funny how it is visible yet so invisible when transformed. Who could guess sand is the origin of glass or chips?
There are so many products using nature as a foundation. Examples of such a drastic transformation, well... It's Monday I am still weekendish so I will pass on this one Andrew.
Thanks, Keva! Glassblowing is really interesting!
My cousin is a glass artist, her work featured in galleries. Magic to me how you can turn sand into glass!
Neat! Have you ever been able to see her make glass?
There’s a whole book on materials that run our world. Would recommend.
Material World: The Six Raw Materials That Shape Modern Civilizationhttps://a.co/d/fBsWSRa
Nice, thanks! I love stuff like this.
Lithium. A readily-available salt. Which most people know because of lithium-ion batteries. Which are mostly nickel. Why they aren't called nickel-ion batteries is above my paygrade.
There's a story there, but that's a rabbit hole for another day (the naming thing, I mean).
a few years back for whatever reason, I read a bit about the glassmakers of Venice. It's quite a romantic story, how they came up with the techniques they used to make Venetian glass. Astounding stuff, glass.
Do you remember any particular interesting takeaways? I'm always interested in trivia rabbit holes.
I remember that one of the premier glassmakers was a woman, which was very rare in those times. And also that the glassmakers were confined to a particular section of Venice -- over a bridge and isolated from the rest of the city -- because the processes that they used were so dangerous that they frequently blew themselves up and the city government didn't want them to set the rest of Venice on fire.
Amazing stuff! If you happen to recall the name of the book, feel free to share here.
I don't think I ever read a book. I got interested in it because I was listening to sleep stories on the Calm app, and that one had me riveted (to the point where I didn't fall asleep) and that inspired me to do a bit of extra research.
I just looked around and turns out there's a substack article written by the author of that story about the story: https://candacerardon.substack.com/p/behind-the-sleep-story-the-glass
Meta! I'll open a tab to read later.
While there are a lot of fascinating facts here, I feel it is my duty to inform you that I'm stealing "Annoyance Ninja" as my new official job title. Thanks!
If the shoe fits, you must acquit.