h a l f b a k e r yKeep out of reach of children.
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In some cultures it is a tradition after drinking a toast to someone or something to smash the glass (perhaps by throwing it into the fireplace) so that it can never again be used for a less-worthy toast.
However, it's highly embarrassing if the glass, when hurled, fails to shatter.
"Prop" glasses
for film and theatre are Baked and WKTE, but they don't produce the same shattering sound that real glass does - that's usually added in post-production. They're made either from brittle plastic, or from sugar - which won't hold liquids for any useful length of time.
So, BorgCo are now offering a range of intentionally frangible glassware - just about strong enough to withstand an evening's use, but absolutely guaranteed* to shatter into multiple shards** if dropped or thrown against a hard surface, emitting an authentic glass-shattering sound.
*In the event of a claim, please apply to our legal representative, Mr. Sturton Buchanan. You may be required to provide supporting evidence.
** which are relatively blunt-edged***. The prototypes produce beautiful needle-like slivers with razor edges, but for some odd reason the product liability lawyers have "issues" with this.
***Bind a handkerchief around the wound (s) and apply firm, steady pressure to limit the bleeding until the paramedics arrive.
[link]
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A more cost-effective alternative to this is to have
unbreakable wine-glasses which, when they hit the
floor, release shards of glass from a small receptacle
in the base, thus providing the required
floor-strewn-with-broken-glass look without the cost
of buying new wine-glasses for every meal.
You can either sweep up and reuse the shards of
glass, buy pre-packed shards of glass to be used with
these glasses, or collect the shards of glass from real
smashed wine-glasses when you visit rich friends. So
that no one notices the lack of the proper shattering
glass sound when you throw your wine-glass to the
ground, a selection of wine-glass smashing noises are
available to discreetly play on a loudspeaker
concealed in your lapel. |
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// without the cost of buying new wine-glasses for every meal. // |
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That's going to cut into our repeat business really badly; a nice idea, but no. |
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//[...] so that it can never again be used for a less-
worthy toast.// |
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Aaah. That makes sense now. I love it. |
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How about a celebratory toasting lump-hammer instead?
Would work well for those really sturdy shot glasses. |
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On a technical note, how are you planning on making your
glasses frangible? Some sort of
quenching process, Prince Rupert's drop style? Or
structural weakening through judicious
scratches? |
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... either way, eye protection might be advised. |
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//unbreakable wine-glasses// |
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That look like regular ones? I don't think material technology is up to that. Even toughened plastic will at least crack if it's that thin and thrown at the floor. |
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Is there an extremely thixotropic polymer/solid available,
that is rigid enough (but only just) to retain "wine glass"
shape, but will soften enough to deform plasticly upon
impact? There is a dilitant putty that is basically the
opposite... |
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Zwiesel wine glasses tossed into a foam lined fireplace
equipped with proximity sensors that plays a prerecorded
clip of smashing glasses over hidden speakers? |
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<adds frangible to lexicon> |
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//There is a dilitant putty// |
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Is that anything like the dilettante putty that performs no
function but floats around amusing itself? |
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Ooops, that should be dilAtant not dilitant... |
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All this talk of wine has me thinking of a glass that imparts
some characteristic of a fine wine into the 'shelf-by-the-door
bottle' poured therein. |
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"No sir, the wine is not tainted, just, well ... you've seen
glasses played by the rim? Those are notes, we also tune
our glasses to your taste." |
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The bell-like quality of a glass is due to its inharmonic resonances; in other words, it imparts fruity overtones. |
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Making a drinking glass out of frangible toast would certainly be possible. However the toast would have to be well buttered in order to prevent leakage of the drink. |
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Well-toasted toast should be plenty frangible enough to smash when thrown into the fireplace. Better still, the resulting crumbs should be much easier to clean up than glass shards. Any diner who was still hungry could discreetly nibble at their glass rather than chucking it away. |
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It would be possible to train some breeds of dog to eat the smashed toast-glass as an efficient method of disposal/recycling. |
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This would involve showing the dog the toast, and then waiting* for the chomping to start. |
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*For some breeds of dog, extremely fast-response timing equipment may be needed. |
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