There are exactly three possible outcomes...

[AustinBoston]

...when one drops a CorrelleWare(TM) plate on the floor (with pancake).

I decided to make myself pancakes for breakfast this morning.  It's something I do every few weeks.  I make up a half-batch, and there's usually a few left over for other people.  I eat them as I make them, so they are nice and hot and fresh.

This morning, as happens most times I make pancakes, I get kicked off half of the counter so PJay can make her coffee.  So instead of having my plate on the counter next to the stove, it is balanced on my left hand and then it's going...

On the way down, I recall the conversation we had just a week before with DD#2 and future DSIL#2, about the durability of Corning's CorrelleWare.  It's fairly tough, but not indestructible.  When it does fall, there are three possible outcomes.  It can remain completely undamaged.  No chips, no cracks, nothing.  It can get a minor chip on the edge.  Or it can shatter into 38,572 razor-sharp shards.  There is no in-between.

We have a ceramic tile floor in the kitchen.  I seemed to know instinctively that 38,572 razor-sharp shards would go in all directions.  There was no part of the kitchen floor that was not covered.  Fortunately, both PJay and I were wearing slippers.

I turn off the stove and get out the broom.  PJay goes for the vaccum.  I swept the entire floor.  The largest piece was less than one square inch.  Most were smaller than 1/8".  Following the broom, PJay vaccums, and I hear more shards going up the hose.  They're easy to miss - a shininy white shards on a clean, white floor.

Two pancakes runined, the one on the plate (which heroically took several hundred shards, and the one in the pan.  There was enough heat in the iron to over-cook it even though I turned the heat off.

I'm looking for something.  I must have put it somewhere.  Oh, I'm looking for my plate.  Oh, darn.  Must be getting old - I just swept my plate up off the floor, all 38,572 pieces.  

Feels like some gravel stuck to the bottom of my slipper.  Make that 38,574 pieces - I just picked two more shards off the bottom of my slipper.

Austin

[dademt]

See, here is the secret.  They are designed to break into little white shards as most of the time it is one of the little kids who drops it.  Based on the fact that a little kid is present, there is a slim chance that the floor would be clean and white.  Thereby making the cleanup easier.:p

 
You are just lacking the little kid by your side appearently.  If you were closer I would loan one of mine out who would make sure the floor didn't stay clean and white.

[Old Goat]

Spread those 38574 plus shards out on your icy driveway. They make excellent non skid.............

[AustinBoston]

See, here is the secret.  They are designed to break into little white shards as most of the time it is one of the little kids who drops it.  Based on the fact that a little kid is present, there is a slim chance that the floor would be clean and white.  Thereby making the cleanup easier.:p

And if the wee one is present, and the floor clean, it WILL soon have bloodstains on it.
 

You are just lacking the little kid by your side appearently.  If you were closer I would loan one of mine out who would make sure the floor didn't stay clean and white.

We've raised three little kids.  To my best recollection, this is only the second time tens of thousands of shards were involved (with the Corelle.  We've had lots of broken drinking classes along the way.)

I have experienced the panic when all around the little one's bare feet are dozens of very large shards of broken glass, and I wanted to use my most absolute obedience and absolute autoritative and least paniced voice in the face of panic to say "DON'T MOVE!" without the kid thinking that they are in trouble.  I've always lifted the child out with tears but without blood - partial success.  PJay once had to deal with a badly cut foot.

Austin

[AustinBoston]

Spread those 38574 plus shards out on your icy driveway. They make excellent non skid.............

What are you talking about?  Flat tires skid all over the place... :yikes:

Austin

[Old Goat]

What are you talking about?  Flat tires skid all over the place... :yikes:

Austin

I fergot to mention that your tires might go flat but with all the shards  sticking out they certainly will not skid..............

[AustinBoston]

I fergot to mention that your tires might go flat but with all the shards  sticking out they certainly will not skid..............

Hmmm...didn't think of that...DIY studded tires!

Austin

[dthurk]

BIL is an engineer for Corning, Inc.  He's explained to me the Corelle manufacturing process, in more detail than I care to understand or am capable of understanding.  Apparently, there is an intentional stress placed on the glass between the surface and the interior of the plate...a very great amount of stress.  That stress keeps the plate or dish whole, even in the event of subjecting it to a force great enough to break it.  As the plate or dish ages, the manufactured stress relaxes, eventually reaching a point a subjected force can be great enough to overcome the stress and allow the dish to break.  There is enough stress remaining, though, to cause the breakage to shatter the piece into...38,572 to 38,574 very small pieces.  So, if you don't want to risk picking up glass shards for the next 2 weeks, buy new Corelleware and sell your older set on ebay!

Corelle is no longer owned and manufactured by Corning, Inc.  The division had been sold quite a number of years ago.

[mmeier71]

So, if you don't want to risk picking up glass shards for the next 2 weeks, buy new Corelleware and sell your older set on ebay!

So how old is too old?

Inquiring mind wants to know!!

[dthurk]

So how old is too old?
 
 Inquiring mind wants to know!!

I don't know as there's an exact answer to this question.  It all depends on the rate of the slow de-stressing and the force of impact.  Not being a scientist, engineer or Corning, Inc. employee myself, I don't have exact information.  If I get a chance, I'll ask my BIL.  In the meantime, we have Corelleware that is almost 30 years old that we bought when we married.  We drop a piece occasionally on our vinyl covered concrete floor and have broken some, not all.  I suspect that the breakage possibility varies even from piece to piece in the same set.   I would suspect a set should be good for at least 10 years before de-stressing is enough to become a concern, but that really is a guess on my part.  

I suppose we should all keep in mind that Corelleware CAN break even when brand new in the right circumstances.  The manufacturing process just makes it very much more difficult to do so that it seems it is unbreakable.  Also keep in mind that the sudden release of all the remaining stress in the glass when it does break causes it to shatter into the 38,572 tiny sharp shards that AustinBoston was originally commenting on.

[tlhdoc]

Thank you for the lesson on Corelle ware.  We have had many pieces dropped over the years and only a few have shattered.  Too bad they don't have it shatter in to square pieces like safety glass.  A few weeks ago our glass butter dish fell and shattered.  Of course I was in bare feet and a dog was right there with me.  I had one foot half on the floor down when the dish broke.  I am happy that I didn't put it the rest of the way down, because there was a piece of glass under my foot.  I grabbed the dog's collar so she would not move and yelled for DS to come to the rescue.  He put shoes on and I lifted the dog and handed her over to him.  Then he came back with the vacuum to rescue me.

[Camping Coxes]

I've had another possible outcome when dropping my Corelle.   I dropped a large serving bowl, and it cracked almost exactly in half.  I was waiting for the millions of shards, which is a bizarre experience, but it just neatly broke in half.  Weird.  

Another weird phenomenon is when I broke a bowl and it did the million shards in every direction thing, the pieces on the floor were moving, like they were vibrating.  It was strange.  Reminded me of jumping beans or something.  The pieces continued to shake like there was energy coming from within the broken pieces.  Must be part of that stress thing.

[AustinBoston]

So how old is too old?

This plate was less than eight years old.  The one other piece (a cereal bowl) from this set that broke (and shattered into 38,572 pieces) happened at least five years ago, so it was less than three years old.

The fact is, it is always possible to shatter Corelleware.  The question is how much force does it take.

Austin

[Kelly]

The fact is, it is always possible to shatter Corelleware.  The question is how much force does it take.

If you set a plate on top of the shop vac and turn on the shop vac the plate shatters into at least 38,572 pieces when it vibrates off the shop vac and hits the concrete floor.  

[aw738]

Corelle is no longer owned and manufactured by Corning, Inc. The division had been sold quite a number of years ago.

This link is from the World Kitchen, LLC website. It states that World Kitchen, LLC ownes the Corelle line of products, but Corning Glass in Corning NY still manufactures Corelle. We visited here while at the Eastern Ralley last year. If the truth was known I bet Corning Glass ownes World Kitchen, LLC, because the name Corelle is licenced from Corning Glass.

World Kitchen, LLC faq