Many people from the Soviet Union remember a legend that Japan was purchasing huge amounts of broken glass from their country. In the end, the Japanese did not need the product, and all glass was thrown out into the sea.
Few people believed in this story. However, it turned out that the unusual deal really took place. Japan purchased a large quantity of broken glass from the USSR, it cost a penny in those days. Finding no need in using it, the glass was thrown out into the sea, it did not caused any harm to the ecosystem.
For a long time many wondered why the Japanese were interested in that transaction, and the answer was found decades later. As it turned out, the buyer really did not need broken glass, paying relatively little money for a completely different product.
Japan actually needed packaging for broken glass, incredibly high-quality wood boxes.
Soviet boxes were made from top-quality cedar boards and could serve for decades. They had superior properties and durability, and Japan was going through hard times in those years, the country could not afford buying timber with the same characteristics, so, the Japanese decided to do a trick.
Japan lacked forests that could be cut for use in industry. However, the Soviet Union had unlimited resources, and the enterprising Japanese took advantage of it.
Upon arrival of the purchased glass in the country, they threw it away, while boxes were dismantled and used as a good material for furniture.
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