Sample 1/25

@ Colourful Glass Apples
Hermie begins his exploration of Glass.

Sample 2/25

@ Jar with Grape Hyacinths

Navy Flower Power Egg
The first painted eggs came from Mesopotamia, and because eggs were forbidden food during Lent, people painted eggs while Lent was being observed—after Lent, they would eat the eggs on Easter Day.

Beautifully decorated eggs “pysanka” are associated with Ukraine, and the oldest painted egg that was unearthed in northern Ukraine is dated to the end of the 17th century.

Sample 3/25

Crushed Glass Mosaic Art
This is a stunning example of glass art. Making crushed glass art is a great way to recycle glass and turn it into a beautiful and unique piece of art. The steps involved in making crushed glass art are fairly simple, and with the right materials and safety precautions, you can easily create a one-of-a-kind work of art.

@ Crushed Glass Mosaic Art
There is one type of glass that hardly ever cracks or breaks into shards — tempered glass. This kind only breaks under extreme pressure, and when it does, it breaks into smaller granules, not shards. How does this work? By super-cooling glass that’s first heated to more than 600 degrees Celsius in a tempering oven. This process causes the outer layer to cool much faster than the inner layer, creating superior strength.

Sample 4/25

@ Multicolour Marbles
Using glass in windows has only been common practice since the early 17th century. Before this time, windows were seen as a luxury item for the rich and affluent.

Sample 5/25

Neon Nudge
Set off your bar wall décor with this eye-catching neon bar sign to create a welcoming vibe and notch up the look of your place! It's the perfect accessory to jazz up your home bar. Neon was discovered in 1898 and the name comes from the Greek neos, meaning 'new'. It is the second Noble gas and is the fifth most abundant element in the universe. Only red signs contain pure neon; the other colours combine neon with other gases.

@ Neon Nudge
We’re all used to driving cars with windscreens made of shatter-proof laminated glass. However, the first windscreens were made from the normal glass used for house windows. The main problem with this was how easily the glass would shatter during an accident, which was of course a major safety hazard. Even Henry Ford himself was injured by flying glass shards from a broken windscreen. He decided that something needed to be done to make windscreens safer. One of his employees, along with a British glass manufacturer, produced a new process that made windscreen glass stronger and safer.

Sample 6/25

@ Street through Raindrops
Many kerbside recycling programmes require you to sort coloured glass from clear glass. However, depending on your council, your local recycling facility could have the capacity to accept mixed glass containers. Check with your council before grouping together or separating. The addition of a single unsuitable item to a batch of recyclables can ruin the whole lot and decrease the recovered glass value. Always remove metal or plastic lids or neck rings as well before chucking your bottle in the bin as these constitute a contamination risk.

Sample 7/25

@ Journey by Train
My 90 year old grandmother still does not use glasses. She drinks straight from the bottle.

Sample 8/25

@ Windowsill with Flowers and Jug
Glass is a material that can be both man-made and natural. Our ancestors used black glass called obsidian to create jewellery, knives and other weapons. This type of glass is formed by the rapid cooling of viscous lava from volcanoes. Lumps of obsidian resemble lumps of glassy coal!

Sample 9/25

@ Modern Chess Board
Many kerbside recycling programmes require you to sort coloured glass from clear glass. However, depending on your council, your local recycling facility could have the capacity to accept mixed glass containers. Check with your council before grouping together or separating. The addition of a single unsuitable item to a batch of recyclables can ruin the whole lot and decrease the recovered glass value. Always remove metal or plastic lids or neck rings as well before chucking your bottle in the bin as these constitute a contamination risk.

Sample 10/25

@ Sparkly Cocktail Glass
My 90 year old grandmother still does not use glasses. She drinks straight from the bottle.

Sample 11/25

@ Still Life with Rose
Those glass jars you love to preserve jams and pickles in in have been around longer than you might think. Canning jars with screw tops were patented by New Jersey tinsmith John Landis Mason back in 1858 and have changed very little over the years in design and function.

Sample 12/25

@ Glass Dragonfly
We’re all used to driving cars with windscreens made of shatter-proof laminated glass. However, the first windscreens were made from the normal glass used for house windows. The main problem with this was how easily the glass would shatter during an accident, which was of course a major safety hazard. Even Henry Ford himself was injured by flying glass shards from a broken windscreen. He decided that something needed to be done to make windscreens safer. One of his employees, along with a British glass manufacturer, produced a new process that made windscreen glass stronger and safer.

Sample 13/25

@ Through a Glass Brightly
There are three ways to see things in life. You can either look at the glass as half empty like a pessimist, half full like an optimist, or you can be an engineer and realise that the glass is bigger than required.

Sample 14/25

@ Marbles in Blue and Purple
Respect people who wear glasses.
They paid money to see you.

Sample 15/25

@ Sands of Time in Hourglass
Oh look ... you found a truly unique little penguin!

Sample 16/25

@ Glass Square Tile
It's cool to have your company's logo etched onto glass products! That engraved, frosted look is achieved by etching the glass surface with hydrofluoric acid.

Sample 17/25

Cathedral Stained Glass Window
The art of creating stained glass windows to decorate churches and cathedrals is over a thousand years old. It took very skilled craftsmen to create them. Stained glass is glass that has been coloured by adding metallic salts during its manufacture, and normally by then further decorating it in various ways. Many large windows have withstood the elements for over hundreds of years and remained for the most part intact since the late mediaeval time.

@ Cathedral Stained Glass Window
Not all colours of glass can be recycled together. Mixing glass hues diminishes the quality of the recycled product and thus the ability to sell it. What is the problem with recycling coloured glass? Simply put, not all glass "recipes" are the same. Nowadays, almost all glass formulas use recycled glass content in place of other raw materials. This is not only economically efficient, but it also saves precious resources. This technique can only work if the recycled glass is recycled properly by colour and reflectivity. So coloured glass requires a bit of special handling.

Sample 18/25

@ Urban Glass, Pink and Blue
There’s a reason why glass beer bottles are brown and not clear. The amber tint is designed to reflect any UV light that would otherwise spoil the contents. You’ll find brown glass commonly used for food and drink bottles and even windows to prevent fade and deterioration of upholstery.

Sample 19/25

@ Crystal Cube
Glass is not clear in its natural form. It’s actually a greenish colour! To get clear glass, the iron content in the molten glass formula must be reduced. To produce dark green glass (aka "bottle green"!) chromium, copper or iron is added to molten glass. Green glass is essential for wine bottles, as it protects the contents from exposure to the sun and extremes of temperature.

Sample 20/25

@ Windscreen Rain
We’re all used to driving cars with windscreens made of shatter-proof laminated glass. However, the first windscreens were made from the normal glass used for house windows. The main problem with this was how easily the glass would shatter during an accident, which was of course a major safety hazard. Even Henry Ford himself was injured by flying glass shards from a broken windscreen. He decided that something needed to be done to make windscreens safer. One of his employees, along with a British glass manufacturer, produced a new process that made windscreen glass stronger and safer.

Sample 21/25

@ Creativity with Lightbulbs
Clear glass is made from basic glass elements like sand and limestone.

Sample 22/25

@ Champagne for Two
I ended up sitting right on my glasses when I got in the car today. It hurts a little, but at least my hind-sight is 20-20 now.

Sample 23/25

Rustic Window
It has surely seen better days ... perhaps this house has been abandoned, and the exterior allowed to fall into disrepair. Whatever the situation, this shot of a old building, perhaps a former farmhouse or barn, has a great atmosphere, particularly with the reflection in the window panes ...

@ Rustic Window
At this time, most glass bottles and jars today contain at least 25 percent recycled glass. That’s another reason why it’s important to keep recycling your glass bottles — every little bit helps to reduce unnecessary waste in our landfills.

Sample 24/25

@ Textured Glass
“You know what, Hermie?” said Silk. “Seeing all these amazing images makes me want to take up videography myself!”
“Sounds like a great idea!" replied Hermie. "There’s an evening class you can join when we get back!"

Sample 25/25

@ An Old Fashioned Christmas
Hermie has now completed his exploration of Glass. As he prepares to go home, he receives a wonderful gift!

Hermie has enjoyed his tour of Glass, but it is time to go home now! Please select another pet as visitor, so it can also enjoy exotic materials!