If you check out "Grffith crack theory" on Google, it highlights the way many big cracks start out as tiny cracks, and might have stayed tiny had they not been wetted by some fluid before being stressed. The best proof of this pudding is that of a glassblower, wanting to cut a thick tube or rod of glass, will scratch it first with his glass knife but will then always touch a finger wetted with spit on the scratch. That little bit of fluid at the tip of the small crack makes all the difference when some stress is applied, resulting in an easy clean break. Solvents will do the same with a range of materials.
She came in through the Bathroom Window, Protected by a Silver Spoon...
