A Short History of Tungsten

Tungsten is the 74th element and a transition metal the periodic table, with a density of about 19 grams per centimetre cubed making it the seventh densest element measured (other elements have predicted higher densities) and heaviest metal with a known biological role, meaning it has a purpose in nature. Spoiler Alert: this density comes up a lot in the strange reviews of the tungsten cube. It is has been used in lamp filaments (the wire that lights up inside some older light bulbs), hardening steels, electrical parts, automobiles, knives, military weapons (which we will not discuss), vacuum furnaces (a type of furnace that heats things in a vaccum)and rocket nozzles, and can make various compounds and alloys.  Tungsten was inadvertently discovered in an acid form by the Swedish Carl Willeim Scheele, but was finally isolated in a metal form in 1783 by Spanish Chemists Juan Jose (accent on the final e) and and Fausto Elhuyar. The reason why the symbol for tungsten is w is because of the mineral wolframite, which was discovered by German miners looking for tin, from which tungsten metal was first isolated. Meanwhile, the name tungsten comes from "Tung Sten", the Swedish words for "Heavy stone". But while tungsten as a metal had been discovered, there was still a long way until it gained its popularity in cube form....

The Tungsten Cube

The start of the true Tungsten Cube is difficult to determine, but there is a company called the Midwest Tungsten Service which was founded in 1958. But how long was it until the cube was made? Unfortunately the company did not answer my question via the company's question/chat system included in the website. This same company had cubes cubes starting June 22nd, 2016, according to Amazon, indicating that the obsessions with tungsten cubes is a very modern thing, being not even ten years old. Oh, and by the way, these cubes are not cheap. A 4-inch cube weighing almost 42 pounds can cost nearly 3 thousand dollars, which is an interesting investment of your valuable money (although according to a source, it has something to do with a feeling of physical security in an online world, "defying physics", and "getting your money's worth".). Anyways, it is uncertain when tungsten cubes were first made, but the likely pioneer seems to be Midwest Tungsten Cubes. What could be supporting evidence for this is its simple domain name, tungsten.com, which indicates its website was made earlier than other companies which sold tungsten. Below I have added a link to their website.

Strange Reviews

Now, what you have all been waiting for....STRANGE TUNGSTEN CUBE AMAZON REVIEWS!!!!! Disclaimer: these reviews are obviously works of fiction (although beautifully crafted), they should not be used to inform your purchasing choices (or any other choices, for that matter.) Enjoy!

First off, we have this person who feels the presence of divinity with this cube:

Next, a supernatural being spawned when this reviewer received their cube:

Here we have a short yet interesting review:

This person promotes the cube as a shortcut to self-esteem:

And lastly, this person finds the cube like a friend:

If you found these reviews entertaining, you can find more of them on Amazon or just by searching up "Tungsten Cube Review". The internet will happily oblige.

Fun Facts (if the Reviews above were not enough!)

• A compound called tungsten carbide is extremely hard. It has a rating of 9.5 on the Mohs scale, which is comparable to diamond with a rating of 10.
• Tungsten has a very high melting point of 3,410 Celsius (or exactly 6,170 Fahrenheit), and boiling point of 5,660 Celsius (or 10,220 Fahrenheit).
• The Cryptocurrency world has embraced tungsten cubes; there is currently an NFT with a minimum bid of 200,000 dollars which represents a possible 14-inch tungsten cube, which would weigh 1,784 pounds. 
• Midwest Tungsten, according to its website, has "One of the largest libraries on tungsten in existence."
• The global tungsten market ranges from 6 to 9 billion dollars.

Conclusion/A Dramatic Short Speech

As a consumer in the forest of products, the world is full of paths you can take and purchases you can make. From the cheap to the expensive to the foods we eat to the fashions we wear, from the beautiful to the functional to pointless, to those that have been manufactured in thousands of different but the same ways to those that are delightfully (or dreadfully) unique. I, having never bought a tungsten cube, am unsure of where this product lies in this meandering forest, but if you choose to buy it, I cannot stop you. Choose wisely.

-Tomatobean