PYREX

'Pyrex' is a brand name for heat-resistant glass introduced by Corning Glass Works in 1915.

Contents

The name PYREX

Composition

Safety issues

Famous examples of usage

Cultural references

See also

References

External links

The name PYREX

A Corning executive gave the following account to Mitford M. Mathews (American Speech, Vol. 32, No. 4. (Dec., 1957), p.290.)

The word PYREX is a purely arbitrary word which was devised in 1915 as a trade-mark for
products manufactured and sold by Corning Glass Works. While some people have thought
that it was made up from the Greek pyr and the Latin rex we have always taken the position
that no graduate of Harvard would be guilty of such a classical hybrid. Actually, we had a
number of prior trade-marks ending in the letters ex. One of the first commercial products
to be sold under the new mark was a pie plate and in the interests of euphonism the letter
r was inserted between pie and ex and the whole thing condensed to PYREX.

Composition

Pyrex was originally borosilicate glass. Though borosilicates had been produced before, the name Pyrex is widely used as a genericised trademark for the material. Corning spun off its kitchenware division in 1998 as World Kitchen, Inc. However, Corning retained the Pyrex brand name, licensing it to World Kitchen and other companies that produce Pyrex-branded cookware.
The brand in Europe is currently owned by Arc International Inc. (a French based company) who acquired the European business from Newell Rubbermaid who in turn had acquired it from Corning in the 1990s.^[1] Arc International state on their Pyrex website that their versions are borosilicate.^[2]
Pyrex kitchen products produced by World Kitchen are no longer made from borosilicate glass, but from soda-lime glass. Their packaging indicates that they must never be used over a flame, on stove tops, under a broiler, or in a toaster oven.^[3]

Safety issues

Recent reports suggest that due to the change in manufacturing,³ notwithstanding the claims made for Pyrex, the glassware can shatter violently and unexpectedly, even when used in accordance with manufacturers' instructions.^[4] Claims have been made of severe personal injury during these events. The tendency to break into large pieces, rather than shatter like tempered glass, can produce large cutting edges capable of causing serious injury. Some reports have suggested that older Pyrex was not as susceptible to these problems as currently produced Pyrex. It is unknown whether this has anything to do with the recent change in ownership and location of manufacture of the Pyrex brand.

Famous examples of usage

Caltech's famous 200-inch telescope mirror at Palomar Observatory was cast by Corning during 1934 – 1936 out of Pyrex, which expands and contracts less than ordinary glass. Modern, commercially built reflector telescopes use Pyrex glass for the primary and secondary mirrors.

Cultural references

Pyrex pots are often alluded to in gangsta rap, the artists referring to the method drug dealers commonly use to prepare crack.^[5]
Surf-Rock band Man Or Astro-Man? had an instrumental track entitled, "The Miracle of Genuine Pyrex" on their 1000x EP. The song features a repeated sample of an austere man's voice speaking the line, "Research, experimentation, testing, ''more'' testing." This refrain suggests that the song is about the marvel of scientific progress, which yields many useful home products, including the titular Pyrex.

See also

★ Bomex

★ Kimax

★ Cookware

References

★ Pyrex by Corning: A Collector's Guide, , , , Antique Publications, , ISBN 0-915410-94-X
1. The Little Book of Collectable British Pyrex by Susan Hibberd
2. http://www.arc-international-cookware.com/en_Glass_Ovenware.html
3.
4. Consumer complaints about Pyrex Cookware
5. "Pyrex stirs turn into Cavalli furs" - Clipse, "Mr. Me Too"; "Pyrex pots, we break, fiends lickin' plates" - Raekwon, "Verbal Intercourse" featuring Ghostface Killah and Nas; "Reminiscing of measuring pots of Pyrex, cook in the kitchen" - Nas, "Street's Disciple" feat. Olu Dara; "Them Chemists' are probably Pyrex Scholars, professors at war, over raw. killing partners for a million dollars." – Ghostface Killah, ''More Fish''.

External links

★ Illustrated history of the Palomar observatory and its Pyrex mirror

★ Pyrex official website

★ Vintage Pyrex Reference Guide

★ Pyrex composition according to NIST

★ NIST Homepage — Physics Laboratory

★ British Pyrex tableware