Let us sit and ponder the psychedelic phenomenon that go by the name lava lamps.
So: what exactly are they?
My definition: A fancy jar containing coloured blobs which float up and down.
British Oxford Dictionary definition: A transparent electric lamp containing a viscous liquid in which a brightly coloured waxy substance is suspended, rising and falling in irregular and constantly changing shapes. (this seems to be a lengthier and posher version of my definition, which I formed before I googled the Oxford definition)
I have a lava lamp. I'd say it's larger than your average lava lamp. (ooh, cheeky.)
It's at least a metre and is pretty chunky, weighs a lot.
I like to think of my lava lamp as a multi-purpose lava lamp.
It has three functions:
1. it sits there and looks groovy, adding to the excitement of my room.
2. it is actually a form of light; cleverly living up to the "lamp" of "lava lamp".
3. heat is also provided from it (which is extremely useful when mum refuses to put the heating on until we're all wearing 5 jumpers and still feeling cold)
I kind of wonder who came up with the idea of lava lamps. Like whether they used to have actual lava in them, or what even the lava-y stuff is made from. It's kind of a weird concept to accidentally stumble across, but then again one doesn't set about intending to create these things (at least that's what I imagine it's like, I've never actually invented anything. though watch this space guys, who knows what the future holds eh?)
Also, d'you reckon it's dangerous to open a lava lamp? Because mine has a (very tightly screwed) cap, and I am really tempted to open it up and see if the blobby lava stuff is all squidgy. IT JUST LOOKS SO FUN TO SQUISH!
Another thing which I'm really tempted to do with my lava lamp is leave it on until something dangerous happens. It's strongly advised that you don't leave it on for more than 8 hours, but I wonder what happens if you leave it on for a lot longer than 8 hours.. will the bulb just blow? Or will the lava go crazy? Will it start bubbling wildly and crack the glass? Will it go into one massive blob? Or would the lava lamp just explode everywhere? That could be fun..
Until I discover the answer, I'll continue to be way too fascinated by coloured blobs moving up and down in a jar.
