this post was submitted on 11 Apr 2025
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Ah, you can get actual glass glasses, but typically only for unusual prescriptions.
And you can absolutely buy linen linens. They aren't even hard to find, just more expensive.
Same with silverware, only way more expensive.
Oh, I dunno, if you're into aesthetics as part of an experience, they do shine pretty.
I inherited some lol.
There is something nice about the way light bounces off of well polished silver that's different from steel, no matter how well polished the steel is.
But you're completely right on any practical level. Just the degree of upkeep is prohibitive.
Ok, we don't polish the inherited silverware, that's why.
I switched to using preservation stuff a while back myself. Renaissance wax does the job, since we never actually use it. Just sits there looking pretty, no target's tarnish at all.
That being said, I do have some silver pieces that I let tarnish that aren't inherited, just because I dig the look of it personally
It might vary by vendor, but you can definitely get real glass glasses for a normal prescription, if you pay for them. I think it's sold as kind of a premium option.
At the place I got my last pair from, if you got half-frames (ie the ones that only have a solid frame around the top of the lenses) they made you get glass lenses, because the wire that goes along the bottom of the lense causes the plastic ones to split over time.
Odd, I have split frames with polycarbonate lenses; the little strap around the bottom is plastic.
I couldn't tell ya 🤷🏾♂️ it's entirely possible that the risk of the lenses splitting was exaggerated to justify their requirement of buying the more expensive lenses with the half frames.
Unrelated, but when I was buying my glasses, I'd fallen in love with these half frames, but disappointedly told the tech I'd have to pick a different pair when she told me about the increased expense. (It wasn't that much more, relatively speaking, but I already couldn't afford the glasses, and had explained earlier that I was trying to do things as cheaply as possible). When she saw how upset I was over not being able to get the frames I really liked over an ultimately negligible amount of money, she gave me the glass lenses for the plastic lense price.
Had the same 10-years ago. They would also paint the exposed bottom half to match the frame, make the frosty bit camouflaged. Tried to get that again a few years later, same optometrist had no idea what I was on about.
Dumb foreigner here, so what’s the deal with silverware? I mean, if you really want silverware, you get forks and knives that are actually made of silver and come in a fancy wood box. Do people use that word for common steel forks too?
Yeah, it's kind of a generic term for not just tableware, but damn near any utensil that isn't for cooking, like serving spoons, ladles and the like.
Actual silver silverware is just expensive is all. So you aren't going to run to a big box store find it, so a lot of people don't even realize it's out there. Tbh, the way brick and mortar places have been priced out or otherwise failed, you often have to go to a decent sized city to find real silver cutlery and tableware, but when I was growing up some of the department stores still carried it.
Hell, at the lower end of the income scale, steel utensils can be pricey to afford. You end up with some pretty crappy alloy parts with plastic handles. It might technically be steel, but it's such a low grade it falls apart under use.
Yeah, that’s t true. Even steel utensils come in a variety of prices. The nicer ones look cool, have interesting shapes are heavy etc. Moderately priced ones are just stamped steel, but still good and durable. The cheap ones, are stamped out of the thinnest low grade trash you can find. Those will bend if you just look at them wrong. Also, some cheap fruit knives have a plastic handle and aluminum rivets. Stick that into a washing machine and you’ll find out how soluble aluminum is at high pH.
I don't recommend putting any tableware into a washing machine.
How about normal steel forks and such? They should be fine.
When they grind down rocks (clothes), they put them in a really big drum (washing machine) and add ball bearings (stainless steel silverware). Even though the ball bearings (stainless) is much harder, it will exit the drum ground smooth and to a fraction of its original size. The drum itself is protected due to the stuff being thrown on itself (requires adequate clothes for dampening).
You will certainly loose any coatings and your knifes and forks (and sporks) will be dull. You might after many runs loose the fork tooths entirely, and your sporks might become spoons. You will also either need to sacrifice your old shirts to the silverware gods, or need to order a few replacement drums and change early before the silverware breaches containment and explores the electric and pump sections of your washer.
I've had glass glasses in middle school. Because my vision differs heavily on both eyes (left lens wasn't even a lens, just a piece of flat glass), it was constantly skewed under the weight of the thicker lens.