How Silica Gel Took Over the World

I find them stuffed into the toes of a new pair of sneakers. I find them wedged into a sheaf of seaweed snacks. I find them in the over-inflated bag that contains my new inhaler, and in the vacuum-sealed one puckered around my kids’ 3D printing filament. “DO NOT EAT,” they all admonish me, and I find myself slipping them under the top layer of the garbage already in the trash can, as if my kids wouldn’t be able to control their urge to taste whatever is inside these tiny white pouches. Silica gel packets are everywhere, their presence seemingly the only thing keeping our packaged food crispy and our belongings free of mildew. How on earth did they all get here? Is silica gel taking over the world? Tear its little Tyvek wrapping, and spill a packet of glassy silica gel beads into the palm of your hand; they won’t hurt you. They are made of the same stuff as sand: “Silica” means “silicon dioxide,” which is the primary component of most drinkware, windshields, and the screen of whatever ... Read full article.