Pyrosil

Today's the day ..................... to google

I got very excited when I saw the above small saucepan for sale (£2) in the Stranraer Community Reuse shop, when we were away last week.

I knew right away that it was Pyrosil Ware with that distinctive blue cornflower logo - and it brought back lots of memories of when my Mother had one back in the early 60s.  I can't remember how she came to have it - but I know she was very proud of it because back then, it really was the most revolutionary, state-of-the-art cookware available.  She told me that the material it was made from was a bi-product of the US Space Programme - something to do with heat-shields on rockets?

When I shared that memory with Will, he was sceptical (to put it mildly!) - so today, I did a bit of online research.  This is what I found - 

'In 1953 Donald Stookey of the Corning Research and Development Division accidentally discovered Pyroceram, a white glass-ceramic material, capable of withstanding a thermal shock of up to 450 K (840 °F). He was working with photosensitive glass and placed a piece in a furnace, planning on heating it to 600 °F. When he checked on his sample, the furnace was at 900 °F and the glass had turned milky white. He reached into the furnace with tongs to discard the sample, and it slipped and hit the floor without shattering.
Pyroceram was originally used in the ballistic missile program as a heat-resistant material for nose cones.'

And the rest, as they say, is history ................... !