During our post-NYE clean up at home, this sturdy glass took a topple. It fell from this upright position over onto the granite counter in the picture.
Happily, the glass survived intact.
However, as I was washing it and putting it away (likely not to stir until next New Year’s Eve), I find myself questioning whether the fall might have introduced some small, barely perceptible crack. Would this glass now shatter in my hands as I washed it, or the next time I poured sparkling wine into it? I couldn’t help but wonder.
Thinking this, the next question in my mind was, when the glass fell and did not break, why did this show of durability actually introduce doubt in my mind about its future, rather than confidence about its strength?
And with that, we at chickenmonkeydog want to wish you all a very happy and quirky 2018!
Glass is very brittle. It breaks or it doesn’t. It is likely that in this case the vibration of the impact didn’t create enough stress or resonance to shatter the glass. Though brittle, glass is actually very durable. You could conceivably have small pits or fissures that might open up some day, but only after a second impact. I wouldn’t squeeze any glass too tightly.