Sea Glass

I've always had a bit of a fascination with sea glass, having first read about it in one of those 'Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul' books I used to get every birthday and Christmas. My chance to finally collect some arose last March, when I was in Spain for ten days. Me and four friends were perusing the beach and the shells (none of us were inclined to join the 20 people long tanning line of our classmates) when I found a small sliver of sea glass no bigger than my finger tip. Excited, I began to look for more.

Turns out, I'm very very bad at finding sea glass. My eyes just register all the colours of a blur. Three of my friends however, were very, very good. The promise of a beer for whoever could find me the most sent them all scurrying. I left Spain with a giant box full of sea glass of all different colours and sizes. Alllll righhhhhtttt.

Sea glass is regular glass that has been thrown in the ocean. Over time (sometimes as long as years) the sharp edges and gloss of the glass is worn down by the tides and waves, and the salt content of the oceans and the sand etches the glossy side. The most common colours are kelly-green, brown and clear, with the rarer colours being blue and red/pink, black, and yellow. The majority of my glass came from heineken bottles, and the green was absolutely spectacular.

Artificial sea glass can be made using a rock shaker, and it can also be found in inland lakes. However, in the lakes and rock shakers it lacks the etched sides that are found in sea glass.

There's not a lot of science to sea glass. I'll admit that's part of why I'm writing about it; I'm tired and grumpy and don't feel like going into detail. But it it an awesome thing. The ocean takes this horrible litter and softly wears away the sharp edges, recreating it into something beautiful and valuable and sought by artisans and beachcombers worldwide. Just that act, making something dangerous and potentially hazardous, taking our horrible horrible waste and smoothing it, is awesome. The product is awesome.

And because of anti-littering campaigns and laws, sea-glass is becoming increasingly rarer. Which is sad, but overall a good thing.

And well, I like to think that ocean is giving us a gentle reminder. Which is just another reason why sea glass is awesome.