Most of the time, when people ask glazing specialists about glass it will be about the advances in safety, structural stability and the range of tints, frosts and fascinating technology added to modern glass.

However, there is one field where all of these advances in safety glass technology are counterproductive, and that is the arts and their long tradition of using sugar glass.

In theatrical productions, films and photographs, real glass is seldom used, in no small part because on one occasion where plexiglass was used instead due to a special effects mix up and a man who was thrown through the glass required 50 stitches and suffered other injuries.

Most types of glass are either too hard to safely use for stunts, causing traumatic injuries in the process, or break into very large sharp shards, which can make it potentially lethal to use.

Instead, the traditional method is to mix sugar and water and heat it at around 150 degrees Celsius until it forms a toffee-like clear substance, which is then mixed with glucose or golden syrup to stop the sugar from crystallising again.

The result is a shapable brittle transparent material that can be turned into flat sheets or glass objects such as bottles or glasses. It was very cheap, broke in a very convincing way and was much safer to use.

Whilst there is a small chance that sugar glass dust can get in the eye and cause irritation, it is far safer than the real thing, and was used for decades of saloon fights action films and comedy pratfalls.

However, its use eventually waned as stunt coordinators became sick of its extreme fragility, where the glass breaks too quickly before the stunt takes place or whilst it is being fitted to the set. Instead, synthetic resins with similar qualities are used.