The Origins of Glass Bong and Pipe

The Origins of Glass
Table Of Contents
The Origins of Glass
When Was the First Bong Invented?
Even the Chinese Loved Bongs
So… Were Bongs Just Big Waterless Pipes Before the Ming Dynasty?
The Rise of the Glass Pipe Industry
The Glass Pipe Crisis
Like a Phoenix from the Ashes
The Present: What Does the Modern World of Pipes Look Like?
1. Hand Pipes
2. Bubbler Pipes
3. Bongs
Why is Glass Superior to Other Materials?
The Future: What Can We Expect from the Glass Pipe Industry?
Glass can be naturally found around volcanoes and obsidian created from cooling lava. The first historical records suggest that the first glass tool was made in Mesopotamia around 2500–1500 BCE. The Mesopotamian civilization used the glass to create colorful beads — mostly white, blue, or yellow — which they further used for accessories and jewelry.

The art of glassblowing was developed in the Hellenistic Period of Ancient Rome. The Romans used diversified mosaic techniques known as “millefiori” to create distinct patterns for beads and pottery. The millefiori technique was completely forgotten by the 18th century, but received its second life a hundred years later. Millefiori means “thousand flowers” in Italian; it gave rise to the popular implosion-style marbles that you can see in many bongs today.

When Was the First Bong Invented?
People have been smoking dry herbs in Central Asia and Africa for centuries. However, recent archeological findings in Russia indicate that the tribal chieftains of the Iranian-Eurasian Scythe trybe once smoked cannabis from golden bong — which was about 2400 years ago.

These are the earliest records of ancient bong use. Before that discovery, the earliest known water pipes were found in an Ethiopian cave from around 1400 CE. Expeditionists found 11 bongs in the cave, many of which were extended underground for extra filtration and cooling.

Wondering how were the Ethiopian bongs made? They included ducts and bottles made out of animal horns and basic pottery — does the “gravity bong” name ring a bell here?

When Was the First Bong Invented?

Even the Chinese Loved Bongs
The use of bongs spread to Central Asia in the 16th century. The word “bong” actually derives from the Thai word “buang,” which specifically described bamboo bongs that were commonly used in Central Asia.

There’s a theory that it was the Ming Dynasty in China that Introduced the use of water in bongs, spreading this technique via the Silk Road. Empress Dowager Cixi, one of the Chinese regents during the Quing Dynasty, was found buried with her three bongs.

So… Were Bongs Just Big Waterless Pipes Before the Ming Dynasty?
Apparently yes.

Back before some smart Asian decided to pour water into the bong, people have been using pipes for smoking weed quite regularly. Pipes were actually popular among every ancient culture, including India, Nepal, Egypt, Arabia, China, Thailand, Vietnam, and more.

Pipes were made out of virtually every natural material that could be carved into a bowl-shaped tool with a mouthpiece. In countries like China or Thailand, people smoked cannabis from wooden pipes.

India, on the other hand, invented something we know today as chillum. The chillum is a conical pipe, typically made of clay, which you pack with cannabis at one end, and inhale the smoke from your herb at another.

Finally, places like Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Turkey were famous for hookahs, also known as the “shisha”. Similar to bongs, hookahs include water filtration, but the smoke isn’t inhaled directly through the mouthpiece. Instead, people use a fiber-made hosepipe to pull the smoke from the inside of the chamber.