"Water glass has electrolytes!" --Stephen

Once upon a time in the ancient mediterranean world, they used to make glass with natron as flux. (Natron is the salt mixture that is left behind when a lake or river drys up.) Which is all very well, but for about 500 years, they didn't actually put in any stablizer, which created glass that, over time, melted in water. Merkel (who studies these things) estimates that the use life for a vessel might be 10 years. This means, of course, that there is almost no extant glass from the period; a couple pieces survived in Egypt, where they don't have water, but that's about it. I have convinced him that the next time he's playing with glass, he ought to make me some nice blue cubes that I can melt in my drinks at parties.

( and other junk... )