Johann Becher and the Glass Delusion

[Paul Ferguson]

"Towards the end of the Middle Ages, something strange started happening across Europe. People started believing they were made from glass. They firmly believed that they could shatter if touched. This became known as the “glass delusion”, and most cases involved the rich and the powerful. But what caused this strange phenomenon? And why did it disappear almost as swiftly as it appeared? Here are 30 things you need to know if you want to understand the bizarre history of the glass delusion… The glass delusion may have emerged as Europe was moving towards the Age of Enlightenment, but some men of science still investigated it thoroughly. The German alchemist Johann Becher was especially fascinated by the phenomenon. In his 1669 work Physica Subterranea, he even went so far as to claim that he had found the secret to turning humans into glass. Or, more specifically, Belcher boasted of knowing how to turn dead bodies into glass objects."

Comprehensive, well-illustrated article on this strange delusion:

https://historycollection.com/nobles-use...-breaking/

Becher's work here:

https://archive.org/details/johjoachimib...h/mode/2up