QUESTIONS AND FACTS
(Mostly Useless Glass Facts and Questions)
- How long have people been using glass?
- Glass containers have been dated back to 200
B.C. Supposedly, the Romans discovered a way to make flexible glass. The
process has yet to be rediscovered, but we can come close with plexiglass.
In 1632, there was a glass factory in Salem, Massachusetts, and there
was even a glass factory in the Jamestown settlement in 1608.
- What is pH?
- We have never been asked this question, but I
memorized the answer and spelling for a college chemistry class quiz. Took
me forever. The question was never asked. I was really disappointed. I
have been waiting years for the opportunity to write, "pH is the negative
logarithm of the effective hydrogen-ion concentration used in expressing
acidity and alkalinity on a scale whose values run from 0 to 14.
- Will breaking a mirror give me seven years
of bad luck?
- Yes.
- Will breaking a mirror I purchased from Arrow
Glass give me seven years of bad luck?
- No. You're protected.
- How many glass containers does the average
American use per year?
- According to the Community Recycling Center in
Champaign, the average person uses 400 glass containers per year. Recycling
one glass bottle will save enough energy to light a 100-watt bulb for four
hours and probably save some cut feet.
- How much does glass weigh?
- Single-strength glass, used in picture frames
and in aluminum storm windows, weighs 1.18 pounds per square foot. Glass
typically used in storefront windows and for desk tops is 1/4-inch thick
and weighs 3.28 pounds per square foot.
- What is glass made of ... the materials?
- Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary has a big
long explanation, but we generally just tell people glass is made by combining
a mixture of silicates (sand) and some other stuff heated up to a molten
state and cooled.
- How do you cut glass?
- Actually, you just do a controlled break. The
surface of the glass is scratched with a glass cutter (which should be called
a glass scratcher) and the glass is snapped to break. It's fairly easy to learn
to cut glass up to 1/4" thick.
