A 3,000°F flame under this thin slice of aerogel has absolutely no affect on these crayons!

Aerogel is perhaps the most remarkable substance on Earth. It holds about fifteen enteries in the Guinness Book of World Records, including best insulator and lowest density solid (as it's made up of 99.98% air). To the touch it feels like the foam that's used to arrange flowers. Press on it softly and it will not leave a permanent mark, press harder it will leave a permanent dimple, however, if you press on it hard enough it will shatter like glass. Despite the fact that it's prone to shattering, however, half a pound of the stuff is strong enough to support a full ton of weight!

You can get about a quarter sized cube sample of Aerogel online for about $40, which I highly recommend just to play around with it.

What's perhaps the most interesting thing I've found about this substance is that a company known as AeroGem is now making pendants using it. Or, at least, that's what they say. You see, the pendants that they're making contain a 3mm tube of Aerogel that's fused inside of a silver helix casing that's then sealed inside of a tube of glass that is hermetically sealed with silver-over-titanium end caps.

So, my question is, what's the point? It's kind of hard to impress somebody with something that they can neither see, nor touch!