What Household Items Are Made From Rocks?
Crockery, such as plates, bowls, saucers and cups, are common household items made from rocks. Cooking tools and utensils, glassware, and plastic items are also made from materials derived from rocks.
Rocks consist of minerals, and they can be hard or soft. Coal, limestone and granite are examples of hard rocks, while clay and sand are examples of soft rocks. A special sand that contains pure quartz grains, limestone and other chemicals makes up glassware.
Rocks are essential components of various kitchen utensils and cutlery, and their mineral contents are also part of some foods and beverages. Special clays, known as china clay or ball clay, are used to create crockery. These clays form when the mineral in granite disintegrates. People mold the clays into different shapes and heat them in a kiln to make them hard.
Cooking pans, kettles and other cooking tools as well as cutlery, such as knives, spoons and forks, are typically manufactured using steel or aluminum, which originate from ores. Rocks are the sources of all materials necessary to create steel. Oil makes up plastics along with other chemical components and fillers, such as limestone and china clay, and it comes from rocks. People sink boreholes to obtain oil trapped in rocks kilometers below the sea floor. Oil is also important in producing petrol.