The “striking” glass sculptures seen in Sweet Home Alabama were in fact created by Simon Pearce Glass Company of Vermont-and they look nothing like actual fulgurites! Hollywood took some creative liberties here, though. The romantic leads then see that a beautiful glass sculpture had been formed when lightning hit the sand. In the opening scenes of the movie, two kids are seen kissing on the beach when lightning strikes a nearby metal pole. Fulgurites were also a plot point in the 2002 romantic comedy, Sweet Home Alabama starring Reese Witherspoon.

They appeared in the hit television series Supernatural as an instrument for summoning gods and demons. Their shape mimics the path of the lightning bolt as it hit the ground.įulgurites were treasured finds in ancient Greece, as it was believed they could bring miracles, power, good fortune, and good favor with Zeus.Cicero, a philosopher in the Roman Empire, used the expression conderefulmina, meaning “ to dig up thunderbolts,” suggesting that early Romans also had knowledge of fulgurites.įast forward a few millennia, and fulgurites are still a hot topic.

In ancient Greece, it was believed that Zeus would hurl lightning bolts down onto the earth, leaving behind proof of his almighty powers in the form of glass, hollow artifacts known today as “fulgurites.” Fulgurites, sometimes called “ petrified lightning” and “lightning stones,” are natural tubes of glass formed by the fusion of silica (quartz) sand or rock from a lightning strike.

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