Don't scratch that iPhone - never mind, you can't

Here's a little bit of personal insight: my sister often calls me "Miss Oblivious." It's not a compliment. Though it is affectionate.

I never really thought about how impervious my iPhone screen is to scratches and dings. In fact, I sort of never noticed it at all. Of course, had my screens become scratched and fuzzy, I have no doubt I would have complained vociferously and often.

Turns out, those screens are not made from ordinary, scratchable, glass. They're made from "gorilla glass."

According to myth, Steve Jobs attended a presentation where a scientist from Corning (yes, the same Corning responsible for those white casserole dishes with the abstract blue floral insignia that every mother has at least one of in her cabinets somewhere) dumped a small square of glass into a bag with a bunch of keys and shook. Hard. Then removed the still pristine and gleaming glass with nary a ding, scratch or scuff. And voila, the smartphone touch screen.

Reading up on it, because knowing all about Gorilla Glass is just the sort of useless information that delights me and renders my brain too full to retain anything useful, like, um, uh... See what I mean? Anyway, turns out Gorilla Glass is also making breakthroughs in the flat panel arena, because not only is it more durable and less scratchable — it is also stronger at thinner thicknesses (well, how would you put it?) than ordinary glass.

Besides, how could you not love a product with a logo of a gorilla doing a down dog?