Glass float

Glass floats were used by fishermen in many parts of the world to keep their fishing nets, as well as longlines or droplines, afloat.

Large groups of fishnets strung together, sometimes 50 miles (80 km) long, were set adrift in the ocean and supported near the surface by hollow glass balls or cylinders containing air to give them buoyancy.

The earliest mention of these "modern" glass fishing floats is in the production registry for Hadeland Glassverk in Norway in 1842.

Occasionally storms or certain tidal conditions will break some floats from this circular pattern and bring them ashore.

They most often end up on the beaches of the Western United States - especially Alaska, Washington, or Oregon - Taiwan, or Canada.

However, many floats have been found on beaches and along coral reefs on Pacific islands, most notably the windward side of Guam.

A small number of floats are also trapped in the Arctic ice pack where there is movement over the North Pole and into the Atlantic Ocean.

Many glass floats show distinctive wear patterns from the corrosive forces of sand, sun, and salt water.

To accommodate different fishing styles and nets, the Japanese experimented with different sizes and shapes of floats, ranging from 2 to 20 inches (510 mm) in diameter.

Other brilliant tones such as emerald green, cobalt blue, purple, yellow and orange were primarily made in the 1920s and 30s.