Once I had ended up with beautiful snowflakes and crystalline layers, entirely by accident.

I had been washing a bowl in steaming hot water when I got interrupted. So, I did what everyone does when they cannot find an appropriate place for what they have on their hands.

I slapped the empty steaming bowl shut (it came with an airtight lid), put it away in the freezer, the nearest thing that looked like a cabinet with a door, and promptly forgot about it.

A few weeks later I found that both the bowl and the lid were covered with exquisite layers of crystals. I tried hard to photograph them, just did not come out right.

I kept the crystals for many months.