Droppar, linjer, ord

Drops, lines, words – an artist's book by Karl Johan Stigmark
Created under the "innocent people" book project

"Prince Rupert's drop

If you drop a glob of red-hot molten glass into a bucket of ice-cold water, it will harden in an instant. The droplet solidifies into a form resembling a tadpole or a large sperm, with a round, bulbous head tapering into a long, curved tail.
The head of the drop is remarkably resilient, as hard as a diamond. You can hammer it with all your might without it shattering, and there are online videos demonstrating its ability to withstand a bullet. Science attributes the phenomenon to compressive stress in the glass, making it so resistant.
Worth noting is that the drop is also remarkably fragile; if one snaps off the end of its slender tail, it all but explodes, disintegrating with a pop into a cloud of glass dust.
These drops achieved some degree of fame already in the 17th century. In German, they were called "Tears of Bologna" or
"Bologna bottles", as they were often made in Bologna. But throughout the rest of the world, the phenomenon was known as "Prince Rupert's drop" after the scientifically minded Prince Rupert of the Rhine. Around 1660, he presented five of these drops as a gift to King Charles the Second of England.

The very scene in which Prince Rupert offers the gift to the king of England resonates deeply with me. Each drop is a treasure whose allure and worth remains hidden until the moment of destruction. And why just five drops? Wouldn't the gift have included a sixth glass sperm? Ah, perhaps King Charles turned to Prince Rupert in one of the rooms of the tower he was busy renovating and said, "Let us try out a drop and see how it works." And so, they broke off the tail and - poof!- there they sat with glass dust all over their hands.
A Prince Rupert's drop is one of those things that can only be used once. It lies intact, waiting for someone to break off its tail. Like the world's tiniest bomb. Or like a glimmering promise. In the same way as an expensive bottle of vintage wine or a spectacular firework awaits that moment of indulgence. Bam! Poof! While that was lovely, all is gone in a cloud of smoke and debris and hangover.
It is as if humankind has lost the valuable quality of just being a drop - before it hardens. To be soft, malleable, to dangle and reach downwards, letting gravity work within us, until one finally lets go - and allows oneself to fall." UKON