Bong

Definition of Bong

Bongs (or water pipes) are devices used to smoke herbal substances. The photo shows one with the gas flowing from the lower port on the left to the upper port on the right. Bongs are similar to that of hookahs, but they are smaller and more portable. A bong is a device that people use to smoke herbs. It is made out of an air- and watertight vessel. People put a bowl and stem apparatus (or slide) in it. The stem guides the air downward to below the water level. The air bubbles up from the water when people use it.

To get fresh air into the bong and to collect the smoke, a hole is made on the lower part of the bong above water level. This hole is known as the “carburetor”, “carb”, “choke”, “bink”, “rush”, “shotty”, “kick hole” or simply “hole”. The hole is first kept covered during the smoking process, then opened to allow the smoke to be drawn into the respiratory system.

Bongs are a type of smoking device that has been used for centuries by the Hmong in Laos and Thailand, as well as all over Africa. There are two main types of bongs – those with a hole on the side for air to come in, and those without such a hole. With bongs without such a hole, the bowl and/or the stem are removed to allow air from the hole that holds the stem.

The word “bong” was first used in the West in the McFarland Thai-English Dictionary, published in 1944. The dictionary describes one of the meanings of bong in the Thai language as, “a bamboo waterpipe for smoking kancha, tree, hashish, or the hemp-plant”. A January 1971 issue of the Marijuana Review also used the term.

Etymology

Bong is a word that comes from the Thai word baung. Baung refers to a cylindrical wooden tube, pipe, or container cut from bamboo. Bongs are used for smoking.

History of the Bong

In 2013, excavations of a kurgan in Russia revealed that Scythian tribal chiefs smoked cannabis and opium 2400 years ago. The kurgan was discovered when construction workers were clearing land for the construction of a power line.

During the time of Emperor Akbar, physician Hakim Abul Fath invented the waterpipe in India. He also discovered tobacco. Abul suggested that tobacco “smoke should be first passed through a small receptacle of water so that it would be rendered harmless”. Other sources also show evidence of the invention of the waterpipe in China during the late Ming Dynasty , along with tobacco, through Persia

The water pipe became the most popular way to smoke tobacco during the Qing Dynasty. However, it became less popular during the Republic era. While it was typically used by commoners, Empress Dowager Cixi preferred it over other methods of intake. According to the Imperial Household Department, she was buried with at least three water pipes.

A Tale of Two Pipes

There are two types of water pipes that have been used in China since the Qing dynasty. The first type is a homemade bamboo bong that is commonly used by rural people. The second type is a metal water pipe that is typically made out of bronze or brass. This version is more elegant and is usually used by Chinese merchants and urbanites. Some versions are even made out of silver and decorated with jewels.

Typically a metal bongs would be constructed in the following way:

• The water pipe is a single piece that has the bowl-stem, the water container, and a drawtube. The drawtube is at least 3 inches long, but some can be up to 12 inches long. Some water pipes are straight with a “Joint” (Sandblasted top part of stem, usually about 1 inch long, and all the way around, tapered or cone shaped, so the tapered, or “cone shaped” bowl will fit in). Other water pipes are bent to resemble a crane.
• The tobacco container with a lid.
• A pipe rack is a small tool that helps you hold your tobacco and water pipe. It has two large holes for the pipe and the container. It might also have smaller holes to help you hold your different tools.

Smoking sessions usually involve keeping all of the equipment inside the rack. The user will hold the entire assembly (rack, pipe, and container) in one hand. They will then light the bowl with a slow-burning paper wick that is lit over a coal stove. In contrast to North America and the Southern Hemisphere, water pipes are typically employed by older generations in China.

How to Use Bong

Firstly, the water in a bong can trap some heavier particles and water-soluble molecules, stopping them from entering the smoker’s airways. This is similar to how a laboratory gas washing bottle works. The user puts their mouth at the top and places the herbs in the tube, as shown in the picture.

Additionally, bongs are devices that use a bowl, stem, and water to produce smoke. They can be made from glass or plastic. Glass bongs are often made from heat resistant borosilicate glass, which means they can be used multiple times without breaking. When you’re ready to smoke, pack the bowl with your chosen substance and insert water into the bong. Then light it and inhale the smoke through the water. This will make it smoother than other smoking methods.

To smoke a bong, the smoker must suck in air from the bong so that bubbles containing smoke come out of the stem. Once there is enough smoke in the bong, either the carburetor is uncovered or the stem is separated from the bong, allowing the remaining smoke to be sucked in.