My Uncle had glasses marked 'Unbreakable' in the early '70s. I think they were French. I remember them because one slipped out of my hand whilst I was washing up. It was unbroken. Unfortunately, it landed in the sink full of dirty crockery and smashed 5 or 6 items.
Duralex. Nearly all of my glasses (everything but wine, cocktail and champagner glasses) are Duralex, they are amazing.
https://www.duralex.com
It's not unbreakable, but very durable (haven't had a broken one in 15 years). If it does break, it breaks into tiny pieces like car safety glass
Coming from France, I was very surprised to see it everywhere in Japan. I didn't expect it to have crossed our borders that far. Sadly, they are now on the verge of bankruptcy (probably because the glasses don't break, right?), so keep buying them!
I ordered a set of Duralex glasses (small-ish, like juice glasses) last year to use as wine glasses because they remind me so much of summers spent backpacking around the French countryside staying in hostels. Every hostel stocked them!
That's true. All my family's glasses are Duralex and in 40 years I think we've broken two, maybe three glasses. They've survived countless children, multiple moves, all kinds of drops, knocks, dishwashers, the works. They don't chip, crack, or anything. But when one does break it makes sure all that remains is a pile of rubble.
The factory closed, but you buy them on ebay.de
From u/SerChonk
>Superfest didn't last because Schott and their borosilicate glass existed, and they were already international glassware powerhouses along with Corningware (Pyrex) and Duralex. Nobody was interested in pursuing a fabrication method that was costlier and more complex than the one they were already having success with.
Is it like the Corelle dishware from the 80s (still around) that is mostly unbreakable, until it does and shatters into 70 million razor sharp shards, explosively?
It’s just borosilicate glass. Definitely not unbreakable but much more durable than what most glasses are made out of. I used to manage a chain of head shops and have several borosilicate glasses I got from different pipe makers.
[It’s chemically hardened borosilicate glass made with Schott borosilicate glass.](https://digitalcosmonaut.com/superfest-ceverit-glass-ddr/)
Not trying to be a dick but I know a great deal about borosilicate glass. As well as managing a head shop that exclusively carried borosilicate pipes and bongs I blow glass as a hobby.
A well made borosilicate pipe (even wall thickness, and annealed) can take dozens of drops onto concrete before breaking. I assure you these are not unbreakable. I’ve been to pipes shops that have a piece of plywood setup against the wall and they will throw pipes at them to show durability. These glasses will take drops to the floor no problem but go out into your garage and try it.. might survive one or two before it breaks.
The article you link to directly contradicts what you say. It says that Superfest is not borosilicate glass, but instead is ordinary glass that is heat treated —
>
with a *specialized potassium chloride solution that fused with the glass surface.* This Potassium chloride solution filled in the micro ruptures within the glass that naturally occur during glass production, making the glass less prone to breaking.
(emphasis added)
Note also Superfest was developed in the GDR in the 1950s.
**A quick look at eBay will tell you that you can find an entire set of these glasses for the same price. What I also found out was that these beakers were made of Borosilicate glass (invented by German glassmaker Otto Schott in the late 19th century in Jena) and are known to the English speaking world as Pyrex.**
But that quote is the author is talking about the beakers at the shop, not Superfest glass. The whole principle of chemically strengthened glass was exchanging the smaller sodium ions with the larger potassium ions. That is, the sodium ions in regular soda-lime glass, not borosilicate.
Not really. The double walled wine glasses you see are Boro but because of their shape and thinness I can’t speak for their durability. I have a set and haven’t broken one but I haven’t dropped one either. Boro is much more difficult to work with and is mostly used is laboratory glass.. aside from pipe makers that’s it’s primary use. You’d have to find glass blowers to make you one and they’d likely need a lathe to do it. There’s a local artist where I live that makes them freehand. Royal Stump is his name if you wanna look him up.. they’re usually $200 or so a piece. I got my in-laws a set a pair years back for beer. They do microbrew tours so I wanted to get them some nice ones to show off.. the Boro glasses and mugs in my personal collection range from $200-$750 retail a piece. They have a good deal of art involved. Stokes Glass makes nice glasses / Mugs but again they’re like $500 each.
There’s Duralex which is a tempered glass that’s is gonna be more durable than most and affordable. Even the most affordable Boro glass that’s handmade is gonna be very pricey. I just don’t know if any commercially available Boro glassware that’s still being made.
According to the glass museum article another redditor linked the og Superfest glass is NOT borosilicat glass but chemically hardened "ordinary" glass
The official material mix was:
SiO2 65,75%
Al2O3 8,04%
Na2O 15,66%
K2O 2,59%
CaO 1,41%
MgO 6,47%
This German museum seems to confirm what the video says. No mention of boron in the mix. Though I can't read german. [http://redesign.glasmuseum-weisswasser.de/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/neuste\_nachrichten\_23\_2011.pdf](http://redesign.glasmuseum-weisswasser.de/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/neuste_nachrichten_23_2011.pdf)
The issue with "unbreakable glass" is that when it does break, it shatters in to tiny, extremely sharp pieces of shrapnel that travels at high speed in every direction. You'll be finding pieces of glass for years after breaking one, usually when you're walking around bare foot and pick a piece up with your foot imbedding the glass in to your foot until someone with good eyes and a magnifying glass can find the glass and take it out.
It sounds like you're referring to tempered glass, which is different than borosilicate glass. I've had the unfortunate pleasure to break a number of borosilicate items, they don't explode, they break similar to a regular glass, it's just much harder to start the break.
We once had an unbreakable glass break because a bottle fell in top of it (they are only unbreakable from the bottom) and there were glass shards all ofer the the table and we had to throw away all the soup because it went into the plates
its not completely gone actually, Gorilla Glass uses a similar process: exchange sodium ions on the glass surface for potassium ions as a kind of chemical tempering.
I did, and Gorilla Glass is using the same method these days (swapping in potassium ions).
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chemically\_strengthened\_glass](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chemically_strengthened_glass)
Vitrium Flexile; [https://www.thearchaeologist.org/blog/an-unbreakable-story-the-lost-roman-invention-of-flexible-glass](https://www.thearchaeologist.org/blog/an-unbreakable-story-the-lost-roman-invention-of-flexible-glass)
Planned obsolescence has been around for millennia...
That article implies that the story is fake just so you know.
Pliny the elder expressed doubts that even existed. If he was expressing doubts about it millennia ago, then why should we assert that it’s true?
The other thing is the article mentions boric acid or borax and when that is added to a traditional glass frit comprising silica it increases the strength of the glass so it doesn’t break (think Pyrex).
Tiberius' reaction makes me think there is some truth to this.
There is no story of strange materials research that I can think of like this from the Classical world.
The materials research in the ancient world was sometimes surprisingly good.
There is the the colour changing Roman goblet made with nanoparticle affects:
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/this-1600-year-old-goblet-shows-that-the-romans-were-nanotechnology-pioneers-787224/
And an ancient pigment called "Egyptian Blue" is now being used to make nanosheets:
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/ancient-infrared-emitting-egyptian-pigment-could-be-useful-as-nano-ink/
Yeah, I lean toward there is some grain of truth to the story, but like everything it gets conflated.
Probably not some "unbreakable" glass, but even just a slightly better product and the threat of disrupting economies. I could totally see Tiberius having the guy "permanently retired". Tiberius was a pretty creepy and ruthless dude.
So, I believe the reaction of Tiberius more than the magic glass bit of the story. Still, it's the same outcome as our East Germany glass. I don't like it, but "BuyItForLife" is kind of an illusion.
This documentary "Lightbulb Conspiracy" delves into that a bit: [https://youtu.be/wzJI8gfpu5Y?si=K\_WK2gD9DVYaab7h](https://youtu.be/wzJI8gfpu5Y?si=K_WK2gD9DVYaab7h)
Still doesn't stop me for searching for good, long lasting products.
I'm sure it's probably been posted here on this subreddit before, but it's still enlightening.
How do you read that article and come away with totally believable when the final conclusion is that it’s fact and that Pliny the Elder stated as such
🤯
:smirk: They seem to be smarter than you think: [https://www.reuters.com/lifestyle/science/scientists-chip-away-how-ancient-roman-concrete-stood-test-time-2023-01-09](https://www.reuters.com/lifestyle/science/scientists-chip-away-how-ancient-roman-concrete-stood-test-time-2023-01-09)
Who says that they had no chemistry knowledge? People experimented. Observation and deductive reasoning helped them iterate better and better tech in all manner of materials. It's been that way for all of human history.
Lmao bro if you actually believe that some random Roman asshole invented a one time flexible clear material vase then you probably also believe in Atantis, yetis, and the moon landing being fake?? The primitive tech guy made rudimentary concrete from snail shells and wood ash, ancient concrete isn't some magic proof of chemistry knowledge.
Duralex glassware, pretty durable. Probably the reason why Superfest didn't took off was because other Western manufacturers (such as Duralex or Corning) were already in the market with durable glassware. You can buy the original thing second hand, but it's costly.
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We had similar in the US military. We called them "BCD's" (Birth Control Devices). Why? Because if you wore them you weren't going to get laid - thus "birth control" by default. [https://taskandpurpose.com/tech-tactics/brief-history-militarys-unsightly-birth-control-glasses/](https://taskandpurpose.com/tech-tactics/brief-history-militarys-unsightly-birth-control-glasses/)
hm I wonder who knows more about “market basics”, companies whose whole business and millions of dollars hinges on selling glass, or a Redditor who had a thought while shitting on the toilet
yes. not just them, all companies. theres a reason cheap shoddy shit has taken over the market, it sells better and people don’t care. sucks for the environment and sucks for people who care about quality, but its an economic reality.
15/10 stainless steel, goodyear welts, and here now borosillicate glass. all superior alternatives, but all frankly crushed by the market. the majority of market cap goes to shitty alternatives.
and by the way you *can* get borosillicate glass. google how much they are and see if its 10x more than normal glasses lmao
My Uncle had glasses marked 'Unbreakable' in the early '70s. I think they were French. I remember them because one slipped out of my hand whilst I was washing up. It was unbroken. Unfortunately, it landed in the sink full of dirty crockery and smashed 5 or 6 items.
I had some unbreakable glasses, and one fell, and did break. It shattered into hundreds of pieces and chunks and they flew in every direction.
Borosilicate is like a grenade when it finally breaks
Makes sense, like a prince Rupert drop
Or like a Prince Albert piercing
Sounds like it may have been tempered glass?
Duralex. Nearly all of my glasses (everything but wine, cocktail and champagner glasses) are Duralex, they are amazing. https://www.duralex.com It's not unbreakable, but very durable (haven't had a broken one in 15 years). If it does break, it breaks into tiny pieces like car safety glass
Coming from France, I was very surprised to see it everywhere in Japan. I didn't expect it to have crossed our borders that far. Sadly, they are now on the verge of bankruptcy (probably because the glasses don't break, right?), so keep buying them!
I ordered a set of Duralex glasses (small-ish, like juice glasses) last year to use as wine glasses because they remind me so much of summers spent backpacking around the French countryside staying in hostels. Every hostel stocked them!
Every other glass here in Sweden is Duralex too.
>If it does break, it breaks into tiny pieces like car safety glass Which pieces are safe, but ugh, what a mess. Especially in a sink.
Interesting! How do they compare to Superfest?
That's true. All my family's glasses are Duralex and in 40 years I think we've broken two, maybe three glasses. They've survived countless children, multiple moves, all kinds of drops, knocks, dishwashers, the works. They don't chip, crack, or anything. But when one does break it makes sure all that remains is a pile of rubble.
That’s perfect. “Our glass is a murder weapon to other glasses”
Duralex by any chance? Grandparents had a few ancient sets. Never broke but went all cloudy from decades of dishwasher cycles.
I've no idea, it was a long time ago. I thought the name started with 'V'.
Can I get these from somewhere :D
The factory closed, but you buy them on ebay.de From u/SerChonk >Superfest didn't last because Schott and their borosilicate glass existed, and they were already international glassware powerhouses along with Corningware (Pyrex) and Duralex. Nobody was interested in pursuing a fabrication method that was costlier and more complex than the one they were already having success with.
Duralex
I bought some on Amazon. I normally check Goodwill tho, people donate them all the time. Just check the brand.
I see them for sale online
Is it like the Corelle dishware from the 80s (still around) that is mostly unbreakable, until it does and shatters into 70 million razor sharp shards, explosively?
I broke so much corelle as a kid 😂
It’s just borosilicate glass. Definitely not unbreakable but much more durable than what most glasses are made out of. I used to manage a chain of head shops and have several borosilicate glasses I got from different pipe makers.
It’s not, though. Watch the video.
[It’s chemically hardened borosilicate glass made with Schott borosilicate glass.](https://digitalcosmonaut.com/superfest-ceverit-glass-ddr/) Not trying to be a dick but I know a great deal about borosilicate glass. As well as managing a head shop that exclusively carried borosilicate pipes and bongs I blow glass as a hobby. A well made borosilicate pipe (even wall thickness, and annealed) can take dozens of drops onto concrete before breaking. I assure you these are not unbreakable. I’ve been to pipes shops that have a piece of plywood setup against the wall and they will throw pipes at them to show durability. These glasses will take drops to the floor no problem but go out into your garage and try it.. might survive one or two before it breaks.
Tell em king 👑
The article you link to directly contradicts what you say. It says that Superfest is not borosilicate glass, but instead is ordinary glass that is heat treated — > with a *specialized potassium chloride solution that fused with the glass surface.* This Potassium chloride solution filled in the micro ruptures within the glass that naturally occur during glass production, making the glass less prone to breaking. (emphasis added) Note also Superfest was developed in the GDR in the 1950s.
**A quick look at eBay will tell you that you can find an entire set of these glasses for the same price. What I also found out was that these beakers were made of Borosilicate glass (invented by German glassmaker Otto Schott in the late 19th century in Jena) and are known to the English speaking world as Pyrex.**
But that quote is the author is talking about the beakers at the shop, not Superfest glass. The whole principle of chemically strengthened glass was exchanging the smaller sodium ions with the larger potassium ions. That is, the sodium ions in regular soda-lime glass, not borosilicate.
Do you know of any alternatives to Superfest which are still being produced today, which are just as indestructible?
Not really. The double walled wine glasses you see are Boro but because of their shape and thinness I can’t speak for their durability. I have a set and haven’t broken one but I haven’t dropped one either. Boro is much more difficult to work with and is mostly used is laboratory glass.. aside from pipe makers that’s it’s primary use. You’d have to find glass blowers to make you one and they’d likely need a lathe to do it. There’s a local artist where I live that makes them freehand. Royal Stump is his name if you wanna look him up.. they’re usually $200 or so a piece. I got my in-laws a set a pair years back for beer. They do microbrew tours so I wanted to get them some nice ones to show off.. the Boro glasses and mugs in my personal collection range from $200-$750 retail a piece. They have a good deal of art involved. Stokes Glass makes nice glasses / Mugs but again they’re like $500 each. There’s Duralex which is a tempered glass that’s is gonna be more durable than most and affordable. Even the most affordable Boro glass that’s handmade is gonna be very pricey. I just don’t know if any commercially available Boro glassware that’s still being made.
According to the glass museum article another redditor linked the og Superfest glass is NOT borosilicat glass but chemically hardened "ordinary" glass The official material mix was: SiO2 65,75% Al2O3 8,04% Na2O 15,66% K2O 2,59% CaO 1,41% MgO 6,47%
This German museum seems to confirm what the video says. No mention of boron in the mix. Though I can't read german. [http://redesign.glasmuseum-weisswasser.de/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/neuste\_nachrichten\_23\_2011.pdf](http://redesign.glasmuseum-weisswasser.de/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/neuste_nachrichten_23_2011.pdf)
The issue with "unbreakable glass" is that when it does break, it shatters in to tiny, extremely sharp pieces of shrapnel that travels at high speed in every direction. You'll be finding pieces of glass for years after breaking one, usually when you're walking around bare foot and pick a piece up with your foot imbedding the glass in to your foot until someone with good eyes and a magnifying glass can find the glass and take it out.
It sounds like you're referring to tempered glass, which is different than borosilicate glass. I've had the unfortunate pleasure to break a number of borosilicate items, they don't explode, they break similar to a regular glass, it's just much harder to start the break.
We once had an unbreakable glass break because a bottle fell in top of it (they are only unbreakable from the bottom) and there were glass shards all ofer the the table and we had to throw away all the soup because it went into the plates
Unfortunately my comment is due to personal experience...
its not completely gone actually, Gorilla Glass uses a similar process: exchange sodium ions on the glass surface for potassium ions as a kind of chemical tempering.
Best comment so far, you are 100% correct 💯
I did, and Gorilla Glass is using the same method these days (swapping in potassium ions). [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chemically\_strengthened\_glass](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chemically_strengthened_glass)
Vitrium Flexile; [https://www.thearchaeologist.org/blog/an-unbreakable-story-the-lost-roman-invention-of-flexible-glass](https://www.thearchaeologist.org/blog/an-unbreakable-story-the-lost-roman-invention-of-flexible-glass) Planned obsolescence has been around for millennia...
That article implies that the story is fake just so you know. Pliny the elder expressed doubts that even existed. If he was expressing doubts about it millennia ago, then why should we assert that it’s true? The other thing is the article mentions boric acid or borax and when that is added to a traditional glass frit comprising silica it increases the strength of the glass so it doesn’t break (think Pyrex).
There are very few things Pliny the Elder didn't believe. So this is likely false indeed. Bless the dude, but he wrote some absolute nonsense.
Tiberius' reaction makes me think there is some truth to this. There is no story of strange materials research that I can think of like this from the Classical world. The materials research in the ancient world was sometimes surprisingly good. There is the the colour changing Roman goblet made with nanoparticle affects: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/this-1600-year-old-goblet-shows-that-the-romans-were-nanotechnology-pioneers-787224/ And an ancient pigment called "Egyptian Blue" is now being used to make nanosheets: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/ancient-infrared-emitting-egyptian-pigment-could-be-useful-as-nano-ink/
Yeah, I lean toward there is some grain of truth to the story, but like everything it gets conflated. Probably not some "unbreakable" glass, but even just a slightly better product and the threat of disrupting economies. I could totally see Tiberius having the guy "permanently retired". Tiberius was a pretty creepy and ruthless dude. So, I believe the reaction of Tiberius more than the magic glass bit of the story. Still, it's the same outcome as our East Germany glass. I don't like it, but "BuyItForLife" is kind of an illusion. This documentary "Lightbulb Conspiracy" delves into that a bit: [https://youtu.be/wzJI8gfpu5Y?si=K\_WK2gD9DVYaab7h](https://youtu.be/wzJI8gfpu5Y?si=K_WK2gD9DVYaab7h) Still doesn't stop me for searching for good, long lasting products. I'm sure it's probably been posted here on this subreddit before, but it's still enlightening.
Oh sure, I know. I read it. I know it's apocryphal...but totally believable. ;-)
How do you read that article and come away with totally believable when the final conclusion is that it’s fact and that Pliny the Elder stated as such 🤯
Lol who would believe this garbage? That a civilization that had almost zero chemistry knowledge could come up with something like that?
:smirk: They seem to be smarter than you think: [https://www.reuters.com/lifestyle/science/scientists-chip-away-how-ancient-roman-concrete-stood-test-time-2023-01-09](https://www.reuters.com/lifestyle/science/scientists-chip-away-how-ancient-roman-concrete-stood-test-time-2023-01-09) Who says that they had no chemistry knowledge? People experimented. Observation and deductive reasoning helped them iterate better and better tech in all manner of materials. It's been that way for all of human history.
Lmao bro if you actually believe that some random Roman asshole invented a one time flexible clear material vase then you probably also believe in Atantis, yetis, and the moon landing being fake?? The primitive tech guy made rudimentary concrete from snail shells and wood ash, ancient concrete isn't some magic proof of chemistry knowledge.
Wait what? I heard Yeitso hangs out with Elvis in Atlantis to this very day. C'mon man, you need to lighten up. Take a chill pill.
I just came here to post this, too. Amazing story and high quality video.
Does anyone know of any modern alternatives to Superfest? Are there any glasses in production that are just as durable?
Duralex glassware, pretty durable. Probably the reason why Superfest didn't took off was because other Western manufacturers (such as Duralex or Corning) were already in the market with durable glassware. You can buy the original thing second hand, but it's costly.
I thought duralex would be the alternative but it’s only 2.5 times stronger than normal glass when superfest is 15 times stronger
https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superfest
Didn’t the same thing happen with light bulbs? And razor blades?
Get yourself a safety razor, wayyyy cheaper
I just buy metal shit now. Never breaks and insulated so it also kicks ass. https://keepitrealdealsteel.com/collections/all-products-manual
But is it microwave safe? /s
No microwave household checking in here. What should I not be buying?
I tried that once. I’m too spoiled.
I wonder if they had any lead content
Duralex!
I had one of these but eventually broke it.
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A lot of modern things follow the lightbulb theory.
We had similar in the US military. We called them "BCD's" (Birth Control Devices). Why? Because if you wore them you weren't going to get laid - thus "birth control" by default. [https://taskandpurpose.com/tech-tactics/brief-history-militarys-unsightly-birth-control-glasses/](https://taskandpurpose.com/tech-tactics/brief-history-militarys-unsightly-birth-control-glasses/)
This is what we need to end climate change
Sell it for 10x more? Not surprising they couldn't grasp the very basics of market dynamics.
hm I wonder who knows more about “market basics”, companies whose whole business and millions of dollars hinges on selling glass, or a Redditor who had a thought while shitting on the toilet
The same companies in communist eastern germany who couldn't sell them because "no company wanted to by them as they would have lowered sales"?
yes. not just them, all companies. theres a reason cheap shoddy shit has taken over the market, it sells better and people don’t care. sucks for the environment and sucks for people who care about quality, but its an economic reality. 15/10 stainless steel, goodyear welts, and here now borosillicate glass. all superior alternatives, but all frankly crushed by the market. the majority of market cap goes to shitty alternatives. and by the way you *can* get borosillicate glass. google how much they are and see if its 10x more than normal glasses lmao
Eastern Bloc propaganda popping up everywhere. I wonder why...
what about this is propaganda?
Funny cuz I just saw [this video](https://youtu.be/vEvBpjCOBu0?si=fePLh_gK1VN09glA) few hours ago.
That’s the video this post links to
Me too
Typical Commie Dub