Serious question, how many of you knew about the old glass tax?

I was reading a book on local history from my town's library and it mentioned a 'glass tax' from the 1700s. It said window glass was taxed by weight, which made people use smaller panes to save money. I never thought about how taxes could change how glass was made back then. Has anyone else come across old rules that changed how things were built?

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kelly3387mo ago

That part about smaller panes to save money is wild. It makes you look at old buildings totally different. I read once that brick sizes got weird in some places because of taxes too. It's crazy how a random law from centuries ago is still staring us in the face in the architecture.

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jenniferb907mo ago

Exactly, those old tax laws left a permanent mark on how things were built. It makes you wonder what weird design choices we're making today that people will puzzle over in a hundred years. Are there any other examples of strange building rules you've come across?

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