Apart from the obvious breakage risk, the physical properties of glass make it a good repository for pharmaceutical products. The choice of colour for that glass has been, over the years, an aesthetic and later a scientifically backed one. In 1836, Teodor Torosiewicz discovered that containers made of yellow, orange and red glass make the best receptacles for keeping sunlight at bay. Purple glass allows the most UV light through, his research showed. Later, amber and brown glasses were used, which we still see in pharmacies across the world today. These green bottles were entirely inappropriate for storing medicine, but caught my eye nonetheless.