History of the Bong

Early Glass Blowing

Humans first began using glass tools in Mesopotamia around 2500-1500 BCE, but the glass was primarily used to make beads for jewelry. Glass blowing technique became more advanced when Ancient Romans developed the “millefiore” (Italian for “thousand flowers”) style, which produced unique markings on the glass, similar to the patterns we see on today's bongs

The Earliest Bongs

Archaeological remains uncovered in Russia show that chieftains of indigenous tribes smoked out of golden bongs, the remains dating back to around 2400 years ago. Excavations in Ethiopia uncovered bongs that dated somewhere between 1100 and 1400 BCE.

Bongs Into The 20th Century

Bongs became popular for the next several centuries, especially after tobacco started coming from America. Glass became more popular as a decorative item as well up until the 20th century, when electricity became more common and people began decorating their homes with things like glass lamps.

The Bong Renaissance

The number of head shops in the US exploded during the 90s and bongs could be found everywhere, including “Chong Bongs” the bongs developed by Tommy Chong of the stoner comedy duo Cheech and Chong. In 2003 the US government began cracking down on headshops and attempted to ban the sale of bongs, which were generating about 1 billion in sales annually. Thankfully, the brong prevailed during this time.

Today, thanks to the rise of online headshops and advanced glass blowing techniques, the bong is more popular than ever. Who knows what the future holds for the bong!