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MARBLES:
Can you imagine playing Marbles over 3,000 years ago? I think most played in the dirt like I did when I was young and we played for "keeps". Marbles get their name from the fact that originally they were made from marble - how would you like to have a 3,000 year old marble marble? Marbles are even mentioned in both ancient Roman literature, and ancient Egypt. So I'm thinking some got to play marbles made of marble on marble floors!!
Before the 18th century marbles were often made of clay, metal, glass & stone. Ceramic marbles entered mass production in the late 20th century. But Machine Made Glass marbles started mass production in Germany around the 1890's. These days, glass marbles seem to be the most popular.
My marbles are all handmade from a Borosilicate type glass like Pyrex, Duran and Kimax: "Borosilicate glass is a type of glass with the main glass-forming constituents silica and boron oxide. Borosilicate glasses are most well known for having very low coefficient of thermal expansion (~5 × 10-6 /°C at 20°C), making them resistant to thermal shock, more so than any other common glass." (*) My colored glass comes from such producers as; Troutman Art Glass, Northstar, Glass Alchemy & Parramore. All of my glass has been properly annealed for lasting durability and lifetimes of enjoyment.
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