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Josh Simpson '72 with his Megaplanet.
Josh Simpson '72 with his Megaplanet.
The Corning Museum of Glass recently unveiled Josh Simpson's '72 Megaplanet, the 1000th paperweight in the museum's collection of paperweights. Simpson's Planet is the focal point of the Museum's new exhibit, Worlds Within: The Evolution of the Paperweight. The paperweight is 13 inches in diameter, weighs over 100 pounds, and contains over fifty different colors of glass. The planet is a clear orb with swirling oceans, continents, spaceships in orbit, and many objects that can be left up to the imagination.

According to The Corning Leader, making the orb was not a simple process. It took Simpson seven months just to prepare his studio to attempt a project so big. He had to upgrade his furnaces, and completely replace the electrical system in his studio, which meant digging a tunnel beneath the road leading to the barn. He had to buy a new generator, because losing power during the 12-week cooling process would have been disastrous. Simpson successfully produced three "Megaplanets" and allowed the museum to pick which one to use in the exhibit. NBC affiliates aired the story of Simpson's Megaplanet, The World's Largest Paperweight, across the continent.

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