Lake Erie¡¯s 275 pound Glass Giant September 18, 2025 7:53 PMSubscribe
When Lynne Brady and her husband, Larry, bought three acres on Ohio¡¯s Lake Erie shore in 2016, they had never heard of beach glass. A year later, they ended up finding the largest piece of beach glass on record! posted by ShooBoo (39 comments total)
31 users marked this as a favorite
Huh. It seems too thick to have been intended to be ground as a lens,which is the only thing else I could think of. posted by tavella at 8:19 PM on September 18 [3 favorites]
I like how this sincere article about beach glass is indistinguishable from a satirical article about beach glass. posted by oneirodynia at 8:23 PM on September 18 [25 favorites]
Huh. It seems too thick to have been intended to be ground as a lens,which is the only thing else I could think of.
If you read the comments you'll see that others had that same though, and apparently Lynne Brady herself comments that a telescope was ruled out.
My guess is aliens. Possibly a wizard. posted by axiom at 9:03 PM on September 18 [4 favorites]
Before the invention of the orb, wizards typically contemplated cylinders or prisms instead. Probably fell off a floating island from which a mighty wizard rules the surrounding summer homes. posted by No-sword at 9:22 PM on September 18 [10 favorites]
Apart from the apparently already kiboshed telescope idea, the other suggestion in the comments seems to be that it was just a crucible of glass that was left to cool and I guess eventually discarded. I thought glass had to be annealed very carefully to get that kind of clarity, though? Even if there was some issue where they couldn't use the glass and it was just easier to discard the whole thing, surely they wouldn't spend a long time annealing it first? But it's hard to think what else it could be, and glass is cheap so I expect it would be easier to just start with new glass pebbles rather than spend a lot of time smashing up a huge chunk. posted by tavella at 10:16 PM on September 18 [2 favorites]
With an 8 to 26 month annealing period, it¡¯s not a trinket.
I¡¯m surprised a telescope was ruled out.
There was a time when little observatories were de rigeur for respectable universities, and though I can¡¯t get Google to back me up on this, ~1920s doesn¡¯t seem to be too late to be part of it. There¡¯s a recognizable one right down from the main entrance at the UW in Seattle, built in 1895. I don¡¯t know when it got its telescope or what kind it is. posted by jamjam at 10:20 PM on September 18 [1 favorite]
Given that the Occupation field on my Mefi profile has said "Beachcomber" for over twenty years, I'm delighted to learn of the existence of this magazine and website. Not sure my own bits and bobs of beach glass could compete with their best examples, though. I'm tempted to buy one of their calendars, but shipping would be twice the price of the calendar itself...
I'd never heard of hag stones before, and now realise I've got some pretty nice ones, especially from one spot in New Zealand where the rocks are riddled with holes.
The photography is all very beautiful, though some of it walks a fine line between tasteful and kitsch. Overall their aesthetic seems a pretty romantic take on the theme. I was wondering where the articles on Beach Plastic were... and maybe something on Beach Fishing Twine. Or Beach Computer Monitors (I've found two, on remote Scottish beaches twenty years apart, although I didn't spend two hours hauling them back to the car). posted by rory at 10:31 PM on September 18 [7 favorites]
piece that large seems to be molded for a purpose and that would be by design let's go with architecture or a structure. I'm thinking it's for a big huge patio centerpiece of for reclusive Victorian multimillionaire depending on which way the ship was headed.
or a high impact observation window for Dr Nemo's secret lab. posted by clavdivs at 10:48 PM on September 18 [4 favorites]
With upcycling the options are usually, make it into a lamp or make it into a coffee table. It looks as if they couldn¡¯t quite decide which to go with. posted by Phanx at 4:11 AM on September 19 [4 favorites]
This makes me think about how we puzzle over ancient things like stone circles and pyramids. This piece of glass is a puzzle that¡¯s only 100 years old, and we¡¯re similarly flummoxed. posted by eekernohan at 4:42 AM on September 19 [2 favorites]
I have a collection of sea brick. Beautiful, sea tumbled, mostly from New England beaches. posted by R. Mutt at 4:55 AM on September 19 [2 favorites]
I like how the article repeatedly notes the couple originally didn¡¯t know what beach glass is then proceeds to not explain what beach glass is. posted by star gentle uterus at 5:12 AM on September 19 [14 favorites]
> I like how the article repeatedly notes the couple originally didn¡¯t know what beach glass is then proceeds to not explain what beach glass is.
What arebirds beach glass? We just don't know. posted by genpfault at 5:17 AM on September 19
I would have thought Corning would have had some idea about this, given its size and quality and the likelihood that whoever ordered it would've had to order it again after it ended up in the lake. But perhaps they didn't keep good records a hundred years ago.
If you're ever in the area, it's worth visiting the Museum of Glass. Lots of cool exhibits and demos. posted by tommasz at 5:32 AM on September 19 [6 favorites]
I really love the stand they had made for the chunk. The way the legs are bent visually emphasizes the mass and weight of the glass. And the dark metal being ¡°strained¡± by the visual lightness of the glass is quite dramatic. It¡¯s a really nice art piece in its own right.
Anyway¡Cool chunk of glass! Would love to see it for reals. posted by Thorzdad at 5:45 AM on September 19 [6 favorites]
Once someone confided in me a rule of thumb they followed whenever they found themselves in a situation and uncertain about what to say next: ¡°When in doubt, state the obvious.¡±
I love that the linked article was written entirely from this philosophy. posted by concinnity at 5:51 AM on September 19 [3 favorites]
Knowing nothing about the glass-making process, my forest thought was that it¡¯s a byproduct of some industrial process that resulted in glass pooling at the bottom of some waste pile by a furnace that happened to be the right temperature for annealing posted by Jon_Evil at 6:35 AM on September 19
The existence of Beach Combing Magazine itself is delightful! posted by heyitsgogi at 6:54 AM on September 19
That display is fantastic. I love it. posted by jacquilynne at 6:59 AM on September 19
It's strange that this - presumably Hella expensive thing to manufacture - ended up in the sea and there is no record of this happening ?
You'd think it would show up on an insurance filing somewhere.. ? posted by Faintdreams at 7:25 AM on September 19
My guess -- a mortar (minus its pestle). That divot is there for *something*. Industrial production of pharmaceuticals? posted by Capt. Renault at 7:41 AM on September 19
There's other kinds of lenses than for telescopes. What about lighthouses or some kind of ship light? posted by fiercekitten at 8:03 AM on September 19 [3 favorites]
"It's strange that this - presumably Hella expensive thing to manufacture - ended up in the sea and there is no record of this happening ?"
Not really; if the estimate of a hundred years is right, then everyone involved in the order is dead, and the loss of a glass blank isn't something that would make the papers on its own. If the manufacturer or destination was known, it's possible some records might remain, but not good odds even for that. And of course it might just be spoil that was used as ballast. posted by tavella at 8:58 AM on September 19
The article doesn't say where along Lake Erie the couple lives...
> I would have thought Corning would have had some idea about this, given its size and quality and the likelihood that whoever ordered it would've had to order it again after it ended up in the lake. But perhaps they didn't keep good records a hundred years ago.
Corning is in a landlocked part of New York a fair distance southeast of Lake Erie.
However, almost all of Lake Erie is downstream from Toledo. And what's in Toledo? Libbey Glass. I wonder whether the couple has contacted them.
(Toledo also has a small but enjoyable art museum with, as you might expect after you learn that the Libbey family's name is stamped on most of the institutions in town, a very nice wing devoted to glass art and the history of glass. If you're ever in the area, check it out.) posted by at by at 10:29 AM on September 19 [5 favorites]
I wonder if a lighthouse could have used such a thing, when it was new and clear. Not sure how, but thinking of things near the water with a bright light. posted by fluffycreature at 11:47 AM on September 19 [2 favorites]
Deck prism for something very very large
(¡°We¡¯re a lighthouse. Your call.¡±) posted by clew at 12:05 PM on September 19 [1 favorite]
Toledo is known as ¡°the glass city¡±, Libbey glass is a famous company there. So other sources than Corning could be possible. And on preview sorry for the duplicate above, I must¡¯ve missed that. posted by I_Love_Bananas at 12:44 PM on September 19 [1 favorite]
The other thing I wonder is how the heck did it get there? Even in shallow water I'd think it would take the strongest storms to move something that big and dense, and I can't imagine that in deep water it would ever move far from where it sank. Even if it was in some kind of wooden crate, I don't think that would add enough buoyancy. So I think if I were them I might try to research the history of the beach -- was there ever a shipwreck or at least a ship washed ashore there, or was there ever some kind of dock there where a ship might have discharged ballast? posted by tavella at 5:43 PM on September 19 [1 favorite]
I was thinking lighthouse too; maybe people tend to associate those mostly with seacoasts, but I was in the Door County Century bike ride a couple of weeks ago and there's a Coast Guard lighthouse on the peninsula. posted by Halloween Jack at 6:53 PM on September 19
A friend guessed the following:
"This thing screams electrical insulator to me. It¡¯s a part of some sort of gigantic power station from the early days, before Bakelite and maybe they didn¡¯t trust ceramic. *puts on speculative cap* it¡¯s in Ohio so my guess is would be insulator component of an early Alcoa aluminum smelter" posted by cnidaria at 12:51 AM on September 20 [2 favorites]
also jamjam -- can you run me through how you calculated 8-26 month annealing period? Super curious! I've done some glassblowing and hot casting but, uh, nothing *remotely* on this scale, more of a 3-4 day annealing situation max. posted by cnidaria at 12:53 AM on September 20
Why is everybody just ignoring the obvious resolution to this mystery? It's right there in the comments.
Part of the dome or Filament that covers the earth read the Bible ?
cnidaria: "can you run me through how you calculated 8-26 month annealing period? Super curious! I've done some glassblowing and hot casting but, uh, nothing *remotely* on this scale, more of a 3-4 day annealing situation max."
Straight from the article: ¡°We have been told it went through an annealing process of 8 to 26 months¡ªif not the lake would have broken it apart.¡±
For the University of Arizona Mirror lab, the Giant Magellan Telescope's 8.4m mirror, "Furnace open after 3 months of annealing and cooling." posted by ShooBoo at 1:06 PM on September 21
I can see an exceedingly slow annealing period for a large glass object being of value if what you're after is the kind of extreme dimensional stability and refractive index consistency that you'd want in telescope optics, but it seems to me that the most likely consequence of a less languid cooldown for a large glass lump would be the creation of high compressive stresses in its outermost regions.
Provided that the stresses were not so great as to exceed the compressive strength of the glass, I'd expect them to make it resist being broken apart, not render it more susceptible. If it did break it might release all that stress at once and explode spectacularly like a Prince Rupert's drop, but as with the big end of a PRD I would expect what would amount to a huge lump of tempered glass to end up enormously strong and impact-resistant.
I can't think of any good reason why a grinding blank for a lens of that diameter would need to be anywhere near that thick. Lighthouses, in particular, use Fresnel lenses that are a couple inches thick at most. To me, the most likely origin story is that this was the scrapped contents of an industrial glass melting crucible that needed to be shut down for some reason, as tavella suggests. There's a comment to that effect in the linked article, identifying the Ford Model T windscreen production facility as a plausible location for that crucible.
Also seems to me that glass that's been molten in a crucible for a relatively long time would end up having highly uniform chemical composition and virtually no bubbles, and would therefore solidify into a nice clear billet when allowed to cool naturally. The slight depression in the top of the thing is also exactly what I'd expect to see if the outside edge solidified before the centre did. posted by flabdablet at 1:50 PM on September 21
« Older How edible shelters for sheep could boost lamb... | All of these things and none of them at the same... Newer »
¡°Why?¡± asked Larry, in his practical way. "Sergeant," admonished the Lieutenant, "you mustn't use such language to your men." "Yes," accorded Shorty; "we'll git some rations from camp by this evenin'. Cap will look out for that. Meanwhile, I'll take out two or three o' the boys on a scout into the country, to see if we can't pick up something to eat." Marvor, however, didn't seem satisfied. "The masters always speak truth," he said. "Is this what you tell me?" MRS. B.: Why are they let, then? My song is short. I am near the dead. So Albert's letter remained unanswered¡ªCaro felt that Reuben was unjust. She had grown very critical of him lately, and a smarting dislike coloured her [Pg 337]judgments. After all, it was he who had driven everybody to whatever it was that had disgraced him. He was to blame for Robert's theft, for Albert's treachery, for Richard's base dependence on the Bardons, for George's death, for Benjamin's disappearance, for Tilly's marriage, for Rose's elopement¡ªit was a heavy load, but Caro put the whole of it on Reuben's shoulders, and added, moreover, the tragedy of her own warped life. He was a tyrant, who sucked his children's blood, and cursed them when they succeeded in breaking free. "Tell my lord," said Calverley, "I will attend him instantly." HoME²Ô¾®¿Õ·¬ºÅѸÀ×Á´½Ó
ENTER NUMBET 0017 mizu6.com.cn gechu9.com.cn axxt.net.cn mihuo3.com.cn www.zuchu7.com.cn www.renan5.com.cn sizhi9.net.cn wailu3.net.cn aigson.com.cn 86539.com.cn
posted by tavella at 8:19 PM on September 18 [3 favorites]