Tag Archives: glass

The Science of Breaking a Bottle With Your Bare Hands

Posted on by

Breaking a bottle with your bare hands isn’t a remotely good idea. Even if you have experience breaking bottles with a punch, you could seriously hurt yourself, and even permanently damage your hand. However, it turns out there’s a way you can pretty safely break a bottle with your bare hands, by hitting it a certain way. The reason it happens is because of science, not because you have magical powers.

cracking_bottle_with_hand_1

Mark Rober teamed up once again with Kevin, The Backyard Scientist demonstrate the phenomenon in this video, and try to figure out why it works by looking at theories people have.

As it turns out, it just takes the right amount of liquid in the bottle and just the right palm strike to the bottle’s lip. It’s a pretty cool trick.

Bell Jar Light Displays Your Toys and Collectibles in Style

Posted on by

A lot of people like to use bell jars to display objects, but the Bell Jar Light from Suck UK comes with built-in lighting in its base to illuminate whatever you’re showing off inside. It is perfect for all of your geeky action figures and toys.

bell_jar_1zoom in


With the light rising out from the bottom, your cherished item will actually be on display properly, shown off as it it were in your own personal museum. Whether it is a priceless watch, a rare Star Wars figure, or a baseball card, your stuff is going to look important.

bell_jar_2zoom in

I features a hand-blown glass dome set atop a wooden base that’s painted in black. That way, the base can fully disappear into the dark, putting the focus on your collectible. The dome measures 7.9 x 9.8 inches (diameter x height), and is perfect for showing off your stuff. List price is $199.99, but you can buy one for about $150 over on Amazon.

bell_jar_3zoom in


[via Cool Things]

This Glass Slide on an L.A. Skyscraper Is Terrifying

Posted on by

Heights. I hate them. Get me up on anything higher than a playground slide and I’m not comfortable. So there’s no way in hell I would be sliding down The Skyslide, which is a see-through glass slide fixed onto outside of the tallest building west of the Mississippi River. There is just no way.

Image: Richard Vogel/AP

zoom in

Image: Richard Vogel/AP

But if you are braver than me, the ride has just opened for business. You can pay $25(USD) to slide down 45 feet of bulletproof glass nearly 1,000 feet in the air. I have to hand it to them, this is a great revenue stream. Tourists and thrill-seekers will all flock to slide down the world’s shortest thrill ride, but I won’t be one of them.

It is part of OUE Skyspace LA, a rooftop observatory atop of the US Bank Tower that gives visitors 360º views of the city They say the glass can withstand hurricane winds or even an earthquake. I wouldn’t want to test that though.

[via BBC via Gizmodo]

Double Drinking

Posted on by

twin_carafe_1

Don’t you feel like reaching into the screen and grabbing the Twin carafe for yourself?? There’s something that just makes you want to own it, no questions asked!

Crafted out of glass, with just the most perfect frosted finish, the Twin carafe holds two drinks at once. It also makes you thirsty because just looking at the carafe’s curves will get you drooling!

Designer: Sen Lin

twin_carafe_2

twin_carafe_3

twin_carafe_4

twin_carafe_5

Celestial Ornaments: Look What the Cat from Men in Black Dragged in

Posted on by

I like unique Christmas ornaments, especially ones that reflect my geeky side. I also like handcrafted glass, so when I saw these celestial ornaments from, I was very intrigued.

celestial_ornaments_3zoom in

Each of these ornaments comes from Plus Alpha Glass, the studio of artist Tomizu Satoshi, and is a true work of art. Each glass orb is a tiny universe unto itself, with planets, colorful swirling gasses, and stars made from bubbles.

Unfortunately, I don’t think there’s a way to order these outside of Japan, so for now, we’ll have to appreciate them from afar. I’ve posted a few of my favorites below, but be sure to check out the Plus Alpha Glass image gallery for more examples.

celestial_ornaments_1zoom in

celestial_ornaments_4zoom in

celestial_ornaments_2zoom in

And yes, it goes without saying that this reminds me a whole lot of the Orion’s Belt scene from Men in Black:

[via Nerdist]