Glass has been manufactured for generations, and in fact, radioactive glass was known as far back as 79 A.D. The earliest examples were found in tiles in early Roman cities. But, there is nothing to fear as the radioactivity is just barely above that of background radiation. 
From the mid 1850’s until the 1940’s, uranium glass was manufactured and sold as both decorative and food glassware. The source of the uranium, mostly in the form of oxides, became unavailable as the US entered into the cold war when making bombs was more of a priority than making dishes. Uranium glass can be anywhere between a light yellow to green, depending on the oxidation state of the metal ions. The tube in the photos is one that I have and is about three inches long and is a standard color of uranium glass. Some glass may also have other colorants. The most typical color is that of the tube in the above left photo and is almost the color of Vaseline, which is one of the names applied to this fascinating glass. But, the most significant feature of uranium glass is that it fluoresces under the influence of ultraviolet (black light) as in photo on the right.
There is a great site with some nice examples of uranium glass. You can see them on the WebEcoist site here.

This is the time of the year in many parts of the country when all types of insects and other creepy crawly things become more noticeable. The warm weather starts a cycle and ants in particular can be a nuisance and sometimes destructive. Although there are over 10,000 different kinds of ants, the ones that cause some of the greatest problems are carpenter ants. Ants belong to the order Hymenoptera, and the carpenter ants are known as Camponotus Pensylvanicus, or black carpenter ants. The most striking feature of these ants is their size. They tend to be much larger than other ants commonly found in and around the home. And, there is a great deal of confusion when these ants are compared to termites. Despite the fact that carpenter ants are frequently found in wood and wood structures, they do not eat wood. And, termites do eat wood! They have the ability to convert cellulose into a manageable food source.
Carpenter ants use wood as a nesting site and prefer wood that has a moisture content between 12% and 15%. And, although that seems like a restrictive limitation, they will adapt to much more humid conditions. The reason that they have earned the name carpenter ants has to do with the way in which they make the wood structure a nest. They tend to build galleries and trails within the wood, generally with the grain, and keep the galleries and paths neat and clean. They make entry into a home by finding wooden parts of the home that are in contact with the ground and hence, subject to moisture and rot. But, they can also gain entry where dead tree branches contact the home. Because they are neat and clean, they move sawdust and dead parts of other carpenter ants into side galleries or move it outside of the nest and make piles of wood and ant debris. The correct term for these accumulations is frass. It can be an indicator of ant activity but they can leave the frass in side galleries designated for waste.
Carpenter ants are omnivores and will forage both in the home, and outside looking for food. Like other ants, they leave pheromone trails to communicate with the ants from their colony. One interesting fact about these ants is that they can typically travel as far as 100 yards to find food. That is the distance of a football field!
I have been asked several times for a good source of information about carpenter ants and I finally found a complete guide to identification, habitat, location, and removal. The source is the University of Minnesota Extension service here.