It's interesting. AT:NY wrote about lab glass way back in November. We've seen it for sale from time to time, and we included a Craigslist posting for it in last Friday's Scavenger. But we were completely taken aback at just how many booths it appeared in at Alameda on Sunday.
We really like its funky, old school look, although after AT reader/lab scientist Erin's reminder that "putting food items in secondhand glassware is potentially very unsafe", we'd stick to using lab glass for display or to hold things like cotton balls, Q-tips, pens. Some resources (other than Alameda) are below the jump.
I had one of these from an old chemistry class and used it to root plant cuttings in. But I kept it above the sink and one day it finally fell in the sink and broke. My point? VERY easy to break and not terribly nice to clean up. That said, thanks for reminding me and I may need to get another one or two from work. And I would second the don't ever put food in used ones statement, that's just common sense, you don't know what they were used for!
My husband and I were just talking about this phenomenon over the weekend (after a visit to Alameda and Valencia St.). New lab glass in many fantastic shapes and sizes can be easily had from on-line catalogues. One of the most popular in the scientific community is VWR. Below is the link to their 2006-8 catalogue. Click on beaker, bottle, flask, etc. and have fun! You'll have to set up an account to buy, but you should be able to do that...
http://www.vwrsp.com/catalog/index.cgi?parent_id=9000002
I assembled new Erlenmeyer flasks, rubber stoppers & hand pumps to make soap/lotion dispensers in my kitchen. I also have stir rods in a beaker to use for coffee stirrers. FUN.