From the archives: Glass

Gorgeous glass replicas of sea life; nearly indestructible glass teardrops; the 19th century princess who believed she had swallowed a glass piano; and the action film prop you can eat.

Blaschka glass jellyfish
Vassil, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

The Blaschka father and son glass artists made replica jellyfish, octopi, anemones, and other sea life for museums around the world.


Drops
Prince Rupert’s drops
Mg3kc at English Wikipedia [Public domain]

Prince Rupert’s drops are tear-shaped glass curios; nearly indestructible on the thick side, but scratch the tail and they shatter immediately.


Princess Alexandra of Bavaria
Princess Alexandra of Bavaria
Joseph Karl Stieler [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Princess Alexandra of Bavaria believed that she had a grand piano made of glass inside her stomach.


Sugar glass
1687 sugar glass centrepiece
Giovanni Battista Lenardi e Arnold van Westerhout [Public domain]

If you see some glass shatter in a film or TV show, the chances are good that you could eat the result.

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