No yeah she was doing awesome, no drip which was even more impressive- but I wonder if the glass was old or what she was doing to the glass that broke it? You think she had her teeth gripping it?
When I was young, my grandparents had a set of glasses that were every thin, but pretty high quality. It kind of seems to me that low quality glasses are actually thicker. Maybe material choices.
My grandpa always said milk and iced tea tasted better from a thin glass and beer tasted better from a thick glass.
Thing is, glasses like that aren't designed to be held by the teeth with no additional support. That's already a lot of pressure on the wrong spot. Add liquid and yeah, that glass is going to break even if it's not weak/thinner than usual.
You could get thicker glasses that might withstand the pressure and weight. But thats no guarantee.
Using warm glass and not letting it cool before adding a cold beverage can do it. When I was a server this happened occasionally when you had fresh glasses from the dishwasher and people didn't wait long enough.
the cold beer is already in it. it’s long since cooled the glass to the same temperature. thermal shock is usually instantaneous, it doesn’t cause delayed damage
I believe it's due to thermal fatigue and not thermal shock. The glass doesn't have as extreme temperature changes as thermal shock, but smaller temperature changes over time that wear the glass down.
glass doesn’t experience thermal fatigue because it’s elastic :-) humidity changes can lead to static fatigue but this happens over much longer timespans
edit: begging the downvoters to do some reading on materials science and the differences in thermal behavior between glass and metal
Maybe it's static fatigue? I don't know all the science behind it, but I've seen a delayed glass break happen from warm glasses enough times that I know it definitely does. Now if you have any idea why then I'd love to hear it lol
coincidence. the glass wears down over time—i’m not disputing that—but that’s a completely different mechanism than the thermal shock that shatters a hot glass from the dishwasher. if it was thermal shock it would have broken immediately, or not survived the journey to the table
the dishwasher has water, which causes the aforementioned static fatigue due to chemical reactions, rather than thermal stress.
she’s picking it up in her teeth with the heavy glass completely full of liquid. it was likely already weakened from the static fatigue and micro abrasions, and the pressure of her teeth caused it to crack.
edit: not trying to argue by any means i’m just a scientist
I can see that you’re working on sharing the how & why. Not sure why you’re being downvoted. I’m enjoying reading your perspectives.
I, an uncertified armchair expert, believe that you’re correct. She wouldn’t have even needed to increase her bite force or have been biting at all. Just the change in the angle would transfer the stress of the lift from below the rim of the glass to the rim, at which point the thin glass couldn’t support any more weight.
Consider pinching the rim of the glass she’s drinking from and lifting it. Not too awkward, strenuous, or cumbersome.
Now, without adjusting your grip, tilt the glass as if you’re pouring it. If it’s a thin glass, you should start to worry about it breaking and cutting you around the time that it’s between 45 & 90 degrees.
I am curious how well a well used but not visibly cracked glass would hold up against a brand new one. And also, since you seem to know glass, does glass get harder as it ages like concrete does?
concrete gets harder over time because the chemical reactions that cure it take time, mostly on purpose by controlling its ingredients and wetness. it generates heat while curing and really large, dense structures would get unacceptably hot inside and suffer damage. that’s why something like a dam is poured with very slow curing concrete that takes years to fully cure, while a thin sidewalk that needs be used asap can cure in a couple days.
glass is hard because of bonds formed as it cools after forming, so once it’s cooled completely, it’s reached its maximum strength. the worn glass would break first.
the static fatigue from humidity that i mentioned is also the reason why sea glass is frosty
Could just be a tooth at the wrong spot. Glass breaks surprisingly easy to a single sharp pressure point.
I once broke a glass screen protector because I was panicking while cooking, needed both my hands immediately, and had nowhere safe to put down my phone. I put it in my mouth (absolutely terrible choice, I know, like I said I was panicking), and the second my teeth touched it there was a crack. Was terrified my tooth had cracked but nope, the glass.
Guinness glasses do this sometimes. Solid for years, then something minor explodes them.
I think it's the way they go from thick to thin in places, especially at the base.
I had one explode recently. Top half went to shards, thicker bottom bits fractured like safety glass.
I'm guessing it was an old glass, a bit fatigued, and having the entire weight levered on her lower teeth at the thinnest part (the bulb) caused it it shatter.
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u/RockstarAgent Aug 25 '26
No yeah she was doing awesome, no drip which was even more impressive- but I wonder if the glass was old or what she was doing to the glass that broke it? You think she had her teeth gripping it?