Apparently Glass is Really Hard to Break

[Crow]

So we just did a little exercise at work that involved breaking out windows. I was surprised that it took my buddy as many tries as it did to break it (four, while striking it with an AR15 rifle). It actually ended up bending the flash hider!

Has anybody else ran into anything that proved to be much tougher than you expected it to be?

For me, I can recall two instances off the top of my head;

The first was a volvo that my friend owned. We were driving through the park, and the grass was extremely wet, causing him to lose control of the vehicle. We ended up crashing head-on into a palm tree. The volv's front end caved in and left a massive crushed section in the shape of a half-palmtree. Despite this, the vehicle continued to run as though nothing had happened. Though to be fair we did notice a few minutes later that the radiator was done for.

The second was my mom's dog, who ran headlong into a moving car, flew off the front fender from the impact, and continued to run and bound off like nothing had happened. We made sure to check him out and he was perfectly fine!

So how about you, playground. Anything you've seen that proved incredibly resilient?

[Whiffet]

My sister's cell phone. I'm starting to think we could drop it down a waterfall and it would be fine.

[Xefas]

I was at the liquor store not that long ago, buying some rum to make a rum cheesecake, and a lady nearby dropped a wine bottle from off of a shelf. It hit the ground and bounced. And then proceeded to come back down, hit the floor a second time, and roll away completely unharmed. I didn't know glass could bounce.

A few years ago, my roommate's puppy leapt out of a third story balcony after a cat hiding in the bushes. He hit the ground with a really terrible sounding thud, and laid perfectly still for a moment, while everyone up above gasped in horror. Another second later, he picked himself back up, shook a little bit, and bounded off after the cat as if nothing had happened. After tracking him down, we found he didn't have any injuries, although I'm guessing it helped that he landed on very soft soil.

EDIT: Thought of one more. I was transporting a box with a Gamecube, some link cables, four Gameboy Advances, and some games, controllers, memory cards and so on. At the top of some concrete stairs that lead up to my apartment at the time, I leaned awkwardly, and the Gamecube and one of the GBAs fell out, clattered down the entire length of the stairs and onto more concrete flooring. Aside from a few scratches, both were completely fine.

Have to applaud Nintendo on designing their electronics to survive small nuclear explosions.

[Scoot]

I've had the battery in my cell phone fly out on numerous occasions whenever I drop the phone, and it's perfectly fine.

It kinda proves that my phone casing isn't all that tough, but after being thrown across concrete and slammed into a few walls, my battery actually holds a charge for longer than when I originally got it. And is without a scratch to be found.


That and my puppy. He slams his head into almost every hard surface imaginable in my house, and he never even winces.

[LaZodiac]

Obligatory reference to Nintendo video game consoles.

[AsteriskAmp]

I've had a DS in case reach terminal velocity when falling from a building and stay relatively untouched there.

[Archpaladin Zousha]

Have to applaud Nintendo on designing their electronics to survive small nuclear explosions.
They've got a reputation for that. One kid left his Game Boy outside for days in major heat and a thunderstorm, and the thing still worked perfectly when he found it again! :smalleek:

Also, golf tees. I once had a golf tee in my pocket along with my cell phone (I call it a fidget, sort of like a security blanket for an autistic adult like myself). I was pushed up against the table in the booth I was getting into at a restaurant when I heard a crack in my pocket. I thought, "Oh, I must have broken the golf tee, no biggie I've got a whole bag of them."

Imagine my surprise when I examined the contents of my pocket to find the golf tee was fine, but it had cracked the face of my cell phone! And to add even more resilience? That phone is still working DESPITE the damage!

[Private-Prinny]

Obligatory reference to Nintendo video game consoles.

Especially this one. (http://www.flickr.com/photos/51289111@N05/4958547859/)

[CynicalAvocado]

i've thrown a phone out of a car going 85....

didn't break

[Katana_Geldar]

Well, unlike in the movies, glass isn't made from toffee...

[AsteriskAmp]

Well, unlike in the movies, glass isn't made from toffee...

Sucrose actually.

[Katana_Geldar]

It's all sugar in the end.

[AsteriskAmp]

It's all sugar in the end.

Including humans.

[ZombyWoof]

I had a glass bottle once that I was throwing on the ground to break. I couldn't get it by using the sidewalk and had to throw it against a hewn-stone wall. Thus I learned about pressure!

[Skeppio]

Obligatory reference to Nintendo video game consoles.


They've got a reputation for that. One kid left his Game Boy outside for days in major heat and a thunderstorm, and the thing still worked perfectly when he found it again! :smalleek:

That's the magic of Nintendium! :smallwink:
Seriously, my old DS is literally held together by a single wire, and it still works fine. I've had that thing since they launched, and it's survived every time I've dropped it, or otherwise been clumsy with it. :smalleek:

[Lady Moreta]

I've noticed glass can be resilient... seen the thing with bouncing glass bottles before. Though I do wish the bedroom window in my second flat had been tougher. A friend and I were setting up my bookcase and we lost our grip. Damn thing went right into the window. Window smashed to pieces and scattered itself all over the sidewalk below (this was on the second floor). I've never been so glad there wasn't anyone walking along the path underneath it :smalleek:

As for things that are resilient - my glasses - both my current pair and my backup pair - actually, especially my backup pair, because they used to be my current pair and I've had them longer. I have a bad habit of throwing things when I get really upset and my glasses are usually the most convienent thing to throw. I have thrown those things at the floor at the wall, at bricks, at all sorts of things. And they've never been damaged, never broken, I've never even scratched the lenses! (which admittedly, are plastic, not glass)

[Partof1]

Well, my DS is held together with duct tape, if that's anything.

[Amiel]

My mobile (cellphone), which survived two cycles in the wash, multiple dropping instances, being thrown and being sat upon.

[Serpentine]

Sucrose actually.Toffee is sugar, or mostly so.
Including humans.Nnnnno, I'm pretty sure we're mostly water and protein - not sugars...

[AsteriskAmp]

Toffee is sugar, or mostly so.Nnnnno, I'm pretty sure we're mostly water and protein - not sugars...

You wouldn't be able to do anything were it not for sugars. Cellular Respiration is dependant on Piruvate, Piruvate is produced from the glucolisys of glucose, glucose is produce through the hydrolysis of sucrose, sucrose is a sugar (or THE sugar most know and love)

[Serpentine]

I never said we don't contain sugars, but they're far from our primary make-up - which, as I said, is mostly protein and water. As opposed to, for instance, toffee, in which sugar is the primary ingredient, thus rendering "sugar, not toffee" a nonsensical claim.

[Innis Cabal]

You wouldn't be able to do anything were it not for sugars. Cellular Respiration is dependant on Piruvate, Piruvate is produced from the glucolisys of glucose, glucose is produce through the hydrolysis of sucrose, sucrose is a sugar (or THE sugar most know and love)

It's still not the same as you said. It's all about the English used, humans are not all sugars in the end.

I'll also throw my cell into the discussion, as I've dropped it in at least three mops and from various heights and it's still kicking.

[AsteriskAmp]

I never said we don't contain sugars, but they're far from our primary make-up - which, as I said, is mostly protein and water. As opposed to, for instance, toffee, in which sugar is the primary ingredient, thus rendering "sugar, not toffee" a nonsensical claim.

Toffee is made mostly of sugar but it is not in fact sugar as we are not carbon or water, we are a bit more than carbon or water as toffee is a bit more than sugar, the fake movie glass is made from sugar, not toffee. It's like saying a diamond ring is made of graphyte, they both come from the same source but are structurally different. (which is a bit nearer the sugar not toffee claim)

Sugar is not our primary makeup, but I never said it was, we boil down to sugar in the sense we have it in reasonable amounts and depend on it, not that we are sugar.

[Coidzor]

Wouldn't we just boil down into coagulated proteins and liquified lipids with some bones sticking out for the most part? :smallconfused:

[AsteriskAmp]

Wouldn't we just boil down into coagulated proteins and liquified lipids with some bones sticking out for the most part? :smallconfused:

We boil down to a number of phosporilated bases, the amino group and Carbon and Hydrogen. Or if you go by my grandma's recipe liquefied flesh and bones, and a delicious soup.

[Fri]

When I was in elementary school, one day in me and my brother's walk to school we found a cool looking glass bottle.

It's surprisingly hard to break. Being curious kids, we decides to throw it as hard as we could to a random stone that's sticking on the road.

The bottle breaks hard, and one shrapnel hits my brother's forehead like a frag grenade's. I forgot whether he got stitches or not, but he doesn't attend school that day at least.

Ah, kids life.

[Amiel]

Never try to "break" corrugated iron with your shoulder; you will lose.

[Katana_Geldar]

Toffee is made mostly of sugar but it is not in fact sugar as we are not carbon or water, we are a bit more than carbon or water as toffee is a bit more than sugar, the fake movie glass is made from sugar, not toffee. It's like saying a diamond ring is made of graphyte, they both come from the same source but are structurally different. (which is a bit nearer the sugar not toffee claim)

Sugar is not our primary makeup, but I never said it was, we boil down to sugar in the sense we have it in reasonable amounts and depend on it, not that we are sugar.

Is there really a point in this or do you just like being right? :smallsigh:

And it's graphite, geez.

[AsteriskAmp]

Is there really a point in this or do you just like being right? :smallsigh:

And it's graphite, geez.
It's part of the small debate that originated, I was merely rebating my earlier position and clarifying. It's not being right but being able to justify what you say.

I concede on my misspelling though.

[factotum]

Couple of things:

1) The plates my father used to get his dinner from the works canteen on. I did once manage to break one by using it to cook something in the oven and then putting it straight down on a patch of water when I took it out, but that's the only time I ever saw one of those things break!

2) The old freezer we used to have. 15 years old if it was a day--we dropped it down the cellar steps when we moved house and it STILL worked perfectly!

[Flame of Anor]

My mother has an unfortunate tendency to put her cell phones through the wash by accident. They're usually fine afterwards once they dry out, though the batteries are sometimes shot.

[Eldan]

My little brother. As a kid (five, six years old, maybe?) he fell over the railings of a stair on the first floor, dropped about two meters, on his head, stood up and was fine. Of course, we sent him to the doctor, but he didn't even have a concussion.

[Amiel]

My mother has an unfortunate tendency to put her cell phones through the wash by accident. They're usually fine afterwards once they dry out, though the batteries are sometimes shot.

My phone survived even that, no damage was dealt to its battery; what a durable bastard.

[Heliomance]

Especially this one. (http://www.flickr.com/photos/51289111@N05/4958547859/)

That looks more like a deliberate mod to me.

[Knaight]

My father had a calculator that survived an extended liquid nitrogen bath.

[Eldan]

My father had a calculator that survived an extended liquid nitrogen bath.

Hmm. It probably wouldn't do a lot to electronics, yeah.

TI calculators are a bit famous for stuff like this. I've seen a video of a TI-89 run over by a truck.

[Knaight]

Hmm. It probably wouldn't do a lot to electronics, yeah.

TI calculators are a bit famous for stuff like this. I've seen a video of a TI-89 run over by a truck.

It was a Cassio actually. I'd have expected screen damage, but there wasn't even that much.

[The_Admiral]

My father's in his late thirties I needed a scientific calculator for school so he just took out an old calculator that he used in high school and it still works on the same batteries it used when my dad used it

[The Succubus]

Well, unlike in the movies, glass isn't made from toffee...

I just had this mental image of Elan swinging towards a window on the end of a rope.....

:elan: "Never fear Haley, your smexy bard is coming to the res-" *WHAM*, followed by a sad squeaky sound as he slides down the glass.

[Eldan]

I just had this mental image of Elan swinging towards a window on the end of a rope.....

:elan: "Never fear Haley, your smexy bard is coming to the res-" *WHAM*, followed by a sad squeaky sound as he slides down the glass.

Actually, "Toffee Glass" made me think of the opposite:

"Nale! The day of-" *FLUMPF* The Glass just flexes inwards, leaving him trapped in a sugary, sticky mass.

[The Succubus]

Actually, "Toffee Glass" made me think of the opposite:

"Nale! The day of-" *FLUMPF* The Glass just flexes inwards, leaving him trapped in a sugary, sticky mass.

Nice. Now future generations can enjoy fossilised bards.

[Croverus]

Now I'm thinking about Dinosaurs with class levels...

My skull apparently is a lot stronger than normal, considering I was assaulted by a drunk one night and my head slammed into teh edge of a metal door frame. It cut the skin but I didn't need stitched cause of my awesome healing abilities and use of bandaids but the doctor showed that there was a small dent on my skull. If you feel the area you can feel the dent. According to what a camera got the police and doctors said they were surprised I didn't have at the very least a fracture.

Considering the number of times I've slammed my head into things by accident (or on purpose when I'm REALLY pissed off) it isn't too surprising to me, but despite it all I lack any noticeable brain damage.

[Eldan]

My father's a nightshift psychiatric nurse. He once had a TV smashed over his head by an angry patient.

[LCR]

I never said we don't contain sugars, but they're far from our primary make-up - which, as I said, is mostly protein and water. As opposed to, for instance, toffee, in which sugar is the primary ingredient, thus rendering "sugar, not toffee" a nonsensical claim.

So you would agree if I said that humans are mostly made out of Coca Cola, because the primary ingredient in Coke is water?

[raitalin]

That looks more like a deliberate mod to me.

It is real. I remember the photo and story from and early 90s Nintendo power.

[Destro_Yersul]

That looks more like a deliberate mod to me.

Apparently the screen has been replaced, but all the electronic components aside from that are original. The gameboy is on display at the Nintendo World Store in New York.

[faceroll]

I find that with proper technique, glassware is pretty easy to destroy. Glass windows, especially in later model vehicles, seem to be made to be very impact resistant. I have no citations or research other than a little anecdotal evidence to support my claims. I wouldn't be surprised if that window the OP's friend was trying to get through was specially put together so as to not break when struck.

Used to play D&D with an ex-con who broke into people's cars to steal their things. He had a special tool, a metal baton with a very hard tip, that he could tap on glass and cause it to shatter. He said he nicked it from some firemen; it's what they used to get into cars so the cave people.

[Ravens_cry]

I can say from direct observation that a handful of tall and muscular men throwing large ( a bit smaller then an American football) sized rocks at a car window didn't shatter it, but the impact from a sliver of ceramic from the outside of a sparkplug did.

[Brother Oni]

The first was a volvo that my friend owned. We were driving through the park, and the grass was extremely wet, causing him to lose control of the vehicle. We ended up crashing head-on into a palm tree. The volv's front end caved in and left a massive crushed section in the shape of a half-palmtree. Despite this, the vehicle continued to run as though nothing had happened. Though to be fair we did notice a few minutes later that the radiator was done for.

There's a reason why Volvos are nicknamed 'Swedish tanks'. :smallbiggrin:

[Eloel]

I'll second TI calculators being indestructible. My TI84 fell 20 meters onto concrete, bounced unharmed. I'm still in awe as to how that is possible.

[Amiel]

There's a reason why Volvos are nicknamed 'Swedish tanks'. :smallbiggrin:

Screw road rage, I have a tank.
Volvo driver in right hand lane, engage rocket launchers.

[Moglorosh]

Conversely, I found out that kicking down a door is surprisingly easier than one would expect.

[Eldan]

Conversely, I found out that kicking down a door is surprisingly easier than one would expect.

Really? The one time I was locked in, I didn't even try that. I used a coin to screw off the plate the lock and handle were set in.

[thubby]

glasses.
as many frames as i've gone through, i've had the actual lenses survive getting smacked with a tree branch while snowboarding. and that broke my nose 0,o

[Moglorosh]

Really? The one time I was locked in, I didn't even try that. I used a coin to screw off the plate the lock and handle were set in.

Well, if you actually care about the door in question, I probably wouldn't recommend it. Last time I did it, the deadbolt stayed intact and split the door frame in half.

[faceroll]

Conversely, I found out that kicking down a door is surprisingly easier than one would expect.

I'm told you kick above the knob, below the knob, then right adjacent.

[Capt Spanner]

Conversely, I found out that kicking down a door is surprisingly easier than one would expect.

Apparently that's a design feature on USA doors to make it easier for the fire services to get to people in burning buildings.

It doesn't work in the UK where doors are built to resist fire, and are MUCH harder to kick down.


I had a Creative Zen, and while changing tracks I slipped, and fell face first into a puddle, crushing the Zen underneath my hand and fully submerged in water, while playing.

It didn't even notice.

[The Glyphstone]

My wireless mouse. I've dropped the thing on the floor more times than I can count, and it continues to function perfectly.

[Fiery Diamond]

I'm a bit confused by this TI calculators being resilient thing. I've broken TWO TI calculators just by dropping them a bunch of times onto tile and wood floors. The first was a TI-83 Plus and that lasted about a year (so, probably about 30 or so drops) and the second was a TI-89 which lasted about 7 years (4 years of constant use, 3 years of intermittent use), but I didn't drop it as frequently. So, it was probably dropped more like 90 times or so.

[Force]

It's probably strange that when I saw this thread title I thought of Glass Mouse, the member, instead of the material called glass. It did provoke :smalleek:

[Fiery Diamond]

It's probably strange that when I saw this thread title I thought of Glass Mouse, the member, instead of the material called glass. It did provoke :smalleek:

Or the recent Pearls Before Swine Sunday comic strip in which Pig tries to "break" a man named Glass when a fire is spotted because the sign next to the fire extinguisher says, "In case of emergency, break glass."

[Ricky S]

I have found that glass marbles are surprisingly resillient. I have even dropped one off a 5 storey building and it didn't smash, it just bounced.

And I agree that doors are a hell of a lot easier to kick in than they should be if you know how to do it.

[AtlanteanTroll]

I know someone made mention to a GameCube earlier, but I have my own ... story. I have a friend who rages over things. A lot. We were up in his room playing some game (I think it was SSB) and I had beaten him again at Versus. He picked up his GameCube, yanked out the cords, and chucked it out his second-story bedroom window. After a few minutes of fuming, he went downstairs and picked it up off the sidewalk, brought back up to his room, and we went back to playing SSB. I think the only thing that happened was that a little paint got chipped.

[Ilena]

On a side note its funny to make people rage at items and watch them flip out,

But ya ... cell phones are not as easy to break as you imagine. I had (still have just got a new one finally) nokia cell phone, it survived, mud, more drops then i can remember, more falls off a horse then i can remember, (sometimes with me attached) it even survived getting kicked by a horse (i was riding at the time and flipped forward to be kicked my troi's (my horse) front legs 3 times) was perfectly fine, to be honest the most damage it has is the EDGES are worn a bit from the CASE. Also has a little bit of imbedded dirt.

[polity4life]

Two things: my older brother and Christmas decorations.

My oldest brother and older brother were playing Coach K, a college basketball game from the 90's, and I was watching. My older brother was winning by a pretty good margin, so my oldest brother picked him up and threw him into the Christmas tree. No one and nothing broke, surprisingly.

[Sipex]

I find that with proper technique, glassware is pretty easy to destroy. Glass windows, especially in later model vehicles, seem to be made to be very impact resistant. I have no citations or research other than a little anecdotal evidence to support my claims. I wouldn't be surprised if that window the OP's friend was trying to get through was specially put together so as to not break when struck.

Used to play D&D with an ex-con who broke into people's cars to steal their things. He had a special tool, a metal baton with a very hard tip, that he could tap on glass and cause it to shatter. He said he nicked it from some firemen; it's what they used to get into cars so the cave people.

He didn't necessarily have to nick it from a firefighter (although it's possible) you can buy this tool at your local hardware store.

If you ever even think you're going to be driving near deep water this thing is a must have in your car. Most sure fire way of surviving your sedan sinking to the depths of a lake.

Mythbusters.

[Occasional Sage]

Well, if you actually care about the door in question, I probably wouldn't recommend it. Last time I did it, the deadbolt stayed intact and split the door frame in half.

Might have something to do with so many modern doors (interior, at least) being made of two sheets of .125" plywood sandwiching corrugated cardboard.

[BladeofOblivion]

Actually, doors aren't very hard to break. I remember one time, when I was 14 (and I've always been very scrawny and weak for my age), my brother snuck into my room and locked me out. I got angry, brought my knee to the door, and Shattered a foot-radius chunk of it, leaving a massive hole.

I didn't expect that. :smalleek:

[Ravens_cry]

Actually, doors aren't very hard to break. I remember one time, when I was 14 (and I've always been very scrawny and weak for my age), my brother snuck into my room and locked me out. I got angry, brought my knee to the door, and Shattered a foot-radius chunk of it, leaving a massive hole.

I didn't expect that. :smalleek:
Well, yes, doors for inside houses tend to be of weaker construction then outside doors. They are more sound barriers than strict barriers to entry. Also, never underestimate the power of rage.

[Skavensrule]

About twenty years ago at the restuarant that I was working in a waitress dropped a drinking glass on a hard tile floor. The stupid glass bounced for about twenty feet down the kitchen tumbleing the entire way, didn't break. I catch it in midbounce, start to place it in the bussing tray and it shattered when it rolled against a plate that was in the tray.:smallconfused:

[Anklebooble]

Sorry to bring the discussion back to Nintendo hardware, but my DS is unscathed after being in my laptop bag, which was run over recently. The box containing my dice was also undamaged, so those crappy boxes in which you buy your sets of dice go on the incredibly resilient objects list too.

Asus Eees, on the other hand, do not.

[Odentin]

Cheerleaders.

I was a cheerleader in high school. I've seen girls hit the ground (not a mat, mind you) from 40' and have nothing more than a bruise. That, and the rest of the guys and I would systematically beat the **** out of each other (and ourselves) without sustaining much more than bruised pride...

[Eldan]

Might have something to do with so many modern doors (interior, at least) being made of two sheets of .125" plywood sandwiching corrugated cardboard.

What? I don't think I've ever seen a door that wasn't made from real wood. Why would you build something like that? Sounds like the first time a kid runs into it, it would break.

[BladeofOblivion]

What? I don't think I've ever seen a door that wasn't made from real wood. Why would you build something like that? Sounds like the first time a kid runs into it, it would break.


Actually, doors aren't very hard to break. I remember one time, when I was 14 (and I've always been very scrawny and weak for my age), my brother snuck into my room and locked me out. I got angry, brought my knee to the door, and Shattered a foot-radius chunk of it, leaving a massive hole.

I didn't expect that. :smalleek:

Yes. Yes it would.

[Feytalist]

What? I don't think I've ever seen a door that wasn't made from real wood. Why would you build something like that? Sounds like the first time a kid runs into it, it would break.

Way back when I was in university, my roommate and I managed to break our dorm room's door (not on purpose, I must add). Imagine my surprise when we found out it was essentially hollow. Like the other poster said, it was simply two thick pieces of plywood filled with sawdust. I remember the first floor of our residence, the old part, still had solid wood doors though. But yeah, modern doors are pretty weak.

Also, plate glass. I am notorious for trying to walk through sliding doors. Suffice to say, I've broken my nose, but never so much as cracked that stupid pane of glass.

[factotum]

What? I don't think I've ever seen a door that wasn't made from real wood. Why would you build something like that? Sounds like the first time a kid runs into it, it would break.

They're not quite THAT flimsy, although the door of the room where my computer sits does have a couple of holes in the back where I've punched it in frustration at getting stuck in a really difficult game... :smallbiggrin:

[Matticus]

Funny story. I was once getting drunk with some mates of mine on Guy Fawkes' Night (which is an absolutely brilliant plan and being shot with fireworks hurts a lot less than you probably expect, I recommend it) and some of these mates were sitting in a caravan, drinking and playing guitar, and I thought "Wow it'd be such a great idea to bang on the window there and surprise them!", things like that having happened a bit all night.

So I did that and broke the window, smashing it in all over the place with one strike with my bare hand. I swear I didn't even hit it that hard.

[Occasional Sage]

What? I don't think I've ever seen a door that wasn't made from real wood. Why would you build something like that? Sounds like the first time a kid runs into it, it would break.


Cruddy doors are cheap. (http://www.google.com/products/catalog?hl=en&xhr=t&q=hollow+core+door&cp=10&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.&biw=1099&bih=674&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=shop&cid=17272563610623713001&sa=X&ei=qJ4ETqOGKIL4swOGzPTgDQ&sqi=2&ved=0CE8Q8wIwAQ)


Real ones... not so much. (http://www.google.com/search?q=solid+wood+door&hl=en&tbs=shop%3A1&aq=f#sclient=psy&hl=en&tbm=shop&source=hp&q=solid+wood+interior+door&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&oq=&pbx=1&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.&fp=f0468d8c599d0a13&biw=1099&bih=674) Note that the cheaper ones are Masonite (hollow core, sneaking in) and mdf (a sawdust-and-glue slurry, much like Chicken McNuggets).



Funny story. I was once getting drunk with some mates of mine on Guy Fawkes' Night (which is an absolutely brilliant plan and being shot with fireworks hurts a lot less than you probably expect, I recommend it) *snip*


Roman Candle Fights ftw! The geek in me always thinks of them as Magic Missles....

[Knaight]

Cruddy doors are cheap. (http://www.google.com/products/catalog?hl=en&xhr=t&q=hollow+core+door&cp=10&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.&biw=1099&bih=674&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=shop&cid=17272563610623713001&sa=X&ei=qJ4ETqOGKIL4swOGzPTgDQ&sqi=2&ved=0CE8Q8wIwAQ)


Real ones... not so much. (http://www.google.com/search?q=solid+wood+door&hl=en&tbs=shop%3A1&aq=f#sclient=psy&hl=en&tbm=shop&source=hp&q=solid+wood+interior+door&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&oq=&pbx=1&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.&fp=f0468d8c599d0a13&biw=1099&bih=674) Note that the cheaper ones are Masonite (hollow core, sneaking in) and mdf (a sawdust-and-glue slurry, much like Chicken McNuggets).
Pretty much. I've actually broken my bathroom door by accident, and it was crappy and hollow. My bedroom door meanwhile is 3 inches of solid hardwood, and not likely to break to anything less than an ax.

[Scarlet Knight]

About twenty years ago at the restuarant that I was working in a waitress dropped a drinking glass on a hard tile floor. The stupid glass bounced for about twenty feet down the kitchen tumbleing the entire way, didn't break. I catch it in midbounce, start to place it in the bussing tray and it shattered when it rolled against a plate that was in the tray.:smallconfused:

Breaking glass is like getting pregnant; hard to do when you're trying, very easy when your not. :smallwink:

[druid91]

My dad is oddly resilient.

Fell headfirst onto concrete with no harm done. According to my grandma and him.

Also +1 to gameboys. Mine still works. It's been left outside during a thunderstorm in the top of a tree.

Why on earth younger me thought playing gameboy in a tree and leaving it there was a good idea I don't know.

[CrimsonAngel]

When my cat was younger, she fell off of the top of the staircase. She was perfectly okay, and she still runs around on the top of the railing.

When I was still in private school, I had a DS that went through some abuse. Somebody head-butted it, I dropped it from the top of some monkey bars, a soccer ball hit it and made it fly out of my hands and land on some concrete... I still have it, and it still works. The top half is connected to the bottom by some wires.

[Lord Loss]

I dropped my glasses on a path that half the school uses to get to the train home, in the dirt for a week or so and found them in near perfect condition (apart from being covered in mud)

EDIT: My dad too. He got hit by a car going pretty fast as a child and didn't even have a scratch (according to relatives of mine).

[Ravens_cry]

About twenty years ago at the restuarant that I was working in a waitress dropped a drinking glass on a hard tile floor. The stupid glass bounced for about twenty feet down the kitchen tumbleing the entire way, didn't break. I catch it in midbounce, start to place it in the bussing tray and it shattered when it rolled against a plate that was in the tray:smallconfused:.
My theory is it is like what happened on Mythbusters (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yR7TvlEuiRQ&feature=related) when they tested a story about a guy repeatedly flinging himself against a skyscraper window (from the inside of course) and have it suddenly fail to disastrous results. Basically ,the repeated stress eventually caused the whole mass to fail, despite no visible damage. The tink against the plate was the metaphorical straw on the metaphorical camels back.

[onthetown]

My DS lite. I only got it a few months ago (I wait for years to catch up with stuff so that the prices go down), and I abuse it. It's been dropped in the kitchen sink, has hit concrete floor several times, so on and so forth. The only thing wrong is that it freezes once or twice when a new game is put in, but that was happening when I first bought it.

Also, my GBA. I recently retired it in favor of the DS, but jeez. I got it new and I've had it since they first came out, and it just keeps going and going and going... and it's seen worse than the DS...

Unfortunately, my mom's old camera doesn't fit into this category. I dropped it into a muddy river by accident while taking pictures. The view screen is now purple and upside down from reality, when it decides to turn on at all.

[Gwyn chan 'r Gwyll]

My theory is it is like what happened on Mythbusters (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yR7TvlEuiRQ&feature=related) when they tested a story about a guy repeatedly flinging himself against a skyscraper window (from the inside of course) and have it suddenly fail to disastrous results. Basically ,the repeated stress eventually caused the whole mass to fail, despite no visible damage. The tink against the plate was the metaphorical straw on the metaphorical camels back.

Had that happen. At the dinner table, my mum was picking up my little brothers glass to fill it for him, accidentally clinked her own glass with it, very lightly, and her glass just shattered on the spot. Totally unexpected!

[Skavensrule]

My theory is it is like what happened on Mythbusters (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yR7TvlEuiRQ&feature=related) when they tested a story about a guy repeatedly flinging himself against a skyscraper window (from the inside of course) and have it suddenly fail to disastrous results. Basically ,the repeated stress eventually caused the whole mass to fail, despite no visible damage. The tink against the plate was the metaphorical straw on the metaphorical camels back.

Makes as much sense as anything else. I had only looked to see if there were any visible cracks or a chipped edge. Glass is a very funny material, it is not actually a true solid like you would think. It has been too long since High School science but glass at room tempature actually flows, it simply takes centuries to be able to notice the change.

[Ursus the Grim]

I'm going to echo Nintendo hardware. Dropped my Gamecube down the stairs, pulled the N64 off the entertainment console and had the VCR fall on top of it, and put several DS cards through the wash. No harm done.

Also, as a Tri-state area native, I have to attest to the existence of that Game Boy at Nintendo World in NYC. Legitimate, not a mod, though it does look like it had some sort of protective jacket on it when whatever happened happened. Saw it in person six months ago, actually.

Glass bottles, at least full ones, can be pretty resilient. I've dropped a few working at a bar, and I've also dropped a few in my personal life. Haven't deliberately tried to break them though.

[BladeofOblivion]

Makes as much sense as anything else. I had only looked to see if there were any visible cracks or a chipped edge. Glass is a very funny material, it is not actually a true solid like you would think. It has been too long since High School science but glass at room temperature actually flows, it simply takes centuries to be able to notice the change.

I'm sorry to tell you this, but this is an urban myth. See its entry (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_common_misconceptions#Chemistry) on Wikipedia's List of Common Misconceptions, with outside (http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/29/science/29glass.html) citations (http://www.glassnotes.com/WindowPanes.html).

Glass isn't entirely solid, but it doesn't flow any more than steel or lead does.

[Skavensrule]

I'm sorry to tell you this, but this is an urban myth. See its entry (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_common_misconceptions#Chemistry) on Wikipedia's List of Common Misconceptions, with outside (http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/29/science/29glass.html) citations (http://www.glassnotes.com/WindowPanes.html).

Glass isn't entirely solid, but it doesn't flow any more than steel or lead does.

Huh, curious, the articles in question do say that glass is an amorphous solid. Amorphous solids do not have a rigid crystaline structure which is why they can be altered so easily. Yet they say that glass does not "flow", yet many amorphous solids can flow visibly with only a slight increase in tempature. Asphalt is listed as both an amorphous solid and a high-viscosity liquid depending on the section. Makes me wonder just where the border is. I remember one experiment we did back in high school to demonstate that glass was an amorphous solid was to heat a thin strip to a point well below the melting point but be able to bend it.

[Amiel]

I wear black-framed glasses; I was involved in a non-fatal car accident where I hit my head on the steering wheel (no LOC, no other problems thankfully).

My glasses didn't break.

[BladeofOblivion]

Huh, curious, the articles in question do say that glass is an amorphous solid. Amorphous solids do not have a rigid crystaline structure which is why they can be altered so easily. Yet they say that glass does not "flow", yet many amorphous solids can flow visibly with only a slight increase in tempature. Asphalt is listed as both an amorphous solid and a high-viscosity liquid depending on the section. Makes me wonder just where the border is. I remember one experiment we did back in high school to demonstrate that glass was an amorphous solid was to heat a thin strip to a point well below the melting point but be able to bend it.

Yeah, check the link on the word "Outside." :smallbiggrin:

[Feytalist]

When I was still bartending, I broke a few wine glasses simply by polishing them. One minute idly polishing, the next a ring around the top simply came loose. Like it was sliced off by Wolverine.

After the fifth one that night, I was getting slightly irritated. To say nothing about my manager. Turns out it was a bad batch of blown glass. They all broke exactly the same way, a thin slice cleanly from the rim.

[Asta Kask]

When I was still bartending, I broke a few wine glasses simply by polishing them. One minute idly polishing, the next a ring around the top simply came loose. Like it was sliced off by Wolverine.

After the fifth one that night, I was getting slightly irritated. To say nothing about my manager. Turns out it was a bad batch of blown glass. They all broke exactly the same way, a thin slice cleanly from the rim.

...or this could be your mutant power. Breaking wine glasses to create lethal weapons helping you defend a world that hates and fears you.

[Feytalist]

...or this could be your mutant power. Breaking wine glasses to create lethal weapons helping you defend a world that hates and fears you.

Indeed. But what will my mutant name be?

[The Succubus]

Indeed. But what will my mutant name be?

Shatter.

Equal parts accurate to equal parts badass.

[Feytalist]

Shatter.

Equal parts accurate to equal parts badass.

Heh, I like it.

And now I can't get the image of a guy in an X-men suit, with a broken glass bottle in one hand, going "I'mma cut you, b*cough*!" out of my head.

Edit: Hmm, I really thought the filter would take care of that word. Oh, well.

[Ravens_cry]

Well, that word is a technical descriptor. What is really odd is that a certain part of male anatomy is not, yet a colloquialism for the same is.

[Feytalist]

Either way, I'd rather not have someone take offence.

[Kansaschaser]

Brand new incandescent (un-used) light bulbs are really hard to break. You'd think you could just throw it on the ground or tap it with a hammer, but you have to hit it really hard.

Old light bulbs are really easy to break.

[Vorpalbob]

My mother's cat. Holy hell, she went through a lot.

Her name was Mephistopheles. She was separated from her mother as a kitten, so she never grew very large. She always looked a lot younger than she was, and many vets though she was no older than five due to her strong bones and teeth, even when she started going deaf.

Here's the list. All of these events are true, and the ones that occurred before I was born have been confirmed by people who were there.


Spent several days stuck in a fence as a kitten, before being found by a friend of my mother. She was brought home sharing a paper bag with a six-pack of beer.
Willingly followed my mother into the subzero water of the St. Laurence river.
When my mother lived in a place that didn't allow pets, little Mephistopheles stayed in the garage of a cousin. He hated her, and so she ran away, but not before leaving a "gift" :smallwink: on his Harley. She showed up a month later at my mother's apartment.
Jumped out of a second-storey window after a bird, missed, and fell on a rosebush. A few cuts and scrapes, but a visit to the vet and she was fine.
Got in a fight with a raccoon, and beat the living daylights out of it despite being the size of a kitten.
Got attacked by a fox or coyote in the woods near Golden, BC. The hostel owners found her eight weeks later, wounded, skin and bones, but alive.


Mephisto lived to be 19. She was old and in pain, losing her hearing. She died in my mother's arms.

Not the best picture of her, but this is all I could find.
http://oi55.tinypic.com/1zgpxrp.jpg

[Occasional Sage]

Flumphs. Flumphs are nigh-impossible to break.

[KoboldRevenge]

Uh, Maybe my first dog was kinda tough. Or maybe he was just unlucky.

He was hit by a car three times in five years. The first two He got better from. But the third one did him in sadly. He was a Black Labrador-probably pitbull mix.

[Ravens_cry]

Flumphs. Flumphs are nigh-impossible to break.
Physically? Sure. Psychologically (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0346.html)? Like a Zweihänder through wet tissue. And no, not paper.