--- "Mark A. Mandel" <thnidu at yahoo.com> wrote: > What about the ice, brazier, and tongs that they use > in Dragaera? Has that > combo ever been standard anywhere in our world? Yes -- basically, before decent corking was figured out. It was also a long-time standard for 'bubbling wines', champagne and the like -- cork won't stand up to that sort of pressure from INSIDE the bottle, so instead the bottle was created with an extra-long neck and 'corked' by melting the glass of the neck again so that it sealed itself. To open the bottle, heat the end of the neck in the brazier, apply ice (or in Dragaera, a feather -- which I presume is wet, since ice is a rarity, but cool water will cause the radical change in expansion and have the same effect) and watch the neck crack and pop off... S. Thomas Crain Author-in-Training __________________________________ Discover Yahoo! Stay in touch with email, IM, photo sharing and more. Check it out! http://discover.yahoo.com/stayintouch.html