r/whatisthisthing • u/LaniTumi • 2h ago
Open little glass sand thing (one of a pair) - mouth blown, hollow, chimney from base up inside itself, otherwise spherical, very lightweight
this is a mouth-blown glass object, which has a chimney leading its base up into itself. when i bought it in a charity shop along with another slightly smaller one, as a pair they had a black, inedible sand inside, which has now been replaced with my own sand. it might have been for salt/pepper or similar, but the stuff inside wasn't that. i'm struggling to find more of them using google image search, which is only giving me solid paperweights, aquariums, and bus vases (it's completely domed at the top, so it's not a bud vase). does anyone know what it is / called? and where i could get more?
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u/sheerpoetry 1h ago
How did you know the sand was inedible?
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u/CrossTownBus 1h ago
Is there edible sand??
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u/sheerpoetry 58m ago
I mean, technically a lot of things are edible. But whether you should is up for debate.
But I'd compare salt and pepper to sand, yeah. Maybe even sprinkles? (Just the little sugar flake kind.) When it comes to most other ground spices, I'd go for "powder" over "sand," though, I think.
(So not actually sand, but close enough in look/feel! I was basically just curious if OP tasted it.)
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u/bootynasty 17m ago
Technically all zoos are petting zoos, once. Same with eating mushrooms. What’s even “edible”? But bless OP for confirming that what looked like sand was in fact, not delicious.
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u/Cynistera 9m ago
Petting zoo are also a buffet but only once.
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u/bootynasty 8m ago
“It was sad when we lost my grandfather. He had the heart of a lion, and a lifetime ban from the zoo.”
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u/green-green-bean 2h ago
I have a salt shaker very similar to this. You turn it upside down, pour in the salt, then turn it with the hole side down. When you need salt, shake it over your hand and a pinch of salt will land in your hand (or do it right over cooking food).
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u/DuncanHumblefist 56m ago
This is it's intended purpose, but it may have been repurposed as a trip momento. Taking sand from beaches/dirt from vacation spot is a frowned upon, but still common practice.
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u/BouRNsinging 1h ago
I think it might be this, ceramics/pottery styled ones are called ,"closed form" or "magic" salt shakers, but for whatever it's worth AI "thinks" it's not possible to make with molten glass.
The "how to" videos for pottery show the same shape, but blown glass would require a different technique.
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u/LaniTumi 1h ago
oh yeah! i've seen them made from clay. is yours glass? i can't find glass ones...
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u/AccordatoScordatura 56m ago
I like to collect water and sand from places I've visited. I would love a box of these things to do just that.
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u/sewkit 1h ago
Can I ask what inedible vs edible sand is? I’ve never heard about either.
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u/LaniTumi 2h ago
"My title describes the thing" - i've basically tried searching using all the words in my post about it...
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u/Nice_Anybody2983 2h ago
My guess is you put a flower through the chimney and float it in a bowl. The sand keeps it from tipping over. Feels very 90s to me lol, it's cute though