Bong

A bong is a water-filtration pipe used to smoke flower, in which combustion smoke is drawn beneath a waterline before inhalation. Core components are a removable bowl, a downstem extending into water, a water chamber (beaker, round, or straight-tube), a neck or tube, a mouthpiece, and sometimes a carburetor hole. Borosilicate "scientific glass" is the dominant material, with silicone, acrylic, and ceramic alternatives. Standard joint sizes are 10mm, 14mm, and 18mm. When the user lights the bowl and draws, air is pulled through the flower, down the stem, through the water (which cools smoke and traps heavier particulates and some water-soluble compounds), up the chamber, and to the mouth. Advanced models include percolators — internal glass fixtures that break smoke into finer bubbles for additional filtration and cooling — plus ice catchers and ash catchers. The word derives from the Thai baung, a cylindrical bamboo tube, first recorded in Western usage in a 1944 Thai-English dictionary describing a bamboo pipe for smoking cannabis. A 2000 NORML/MAPS study found water filtration removes proportionally more THC than tar, so filtration benefits are not unambiguous. → See also: Water pipe, Bowl, Flower (Part 3). ---