The Ocean Has Polished Our Broken Glass And Turned Into Treasure

Much of the glass humans have broken and thrown away throughout history has ended up in the ocean. Luckily, unlike plastic, glass is a natural material made out of sand, that eventually turns back into sand once it has eroded into tiny enough pieces. Before it breaks all the way back down into sand, it is tumbled by the ocean into these dazzling little stones called “sea glass.”

How is Glass Made? Many people don't know that glass is made from liquid sand. The sand is mostly made of silicon dioxide and it's heated until it reaches a liquid state. However, an incredibly high temperature is needed to melt sand. To transform the sand into a liquid form, the temperatures need to be at least 1700°C (3090°F).