Interestingly the earliest capacitors were glass jars (called Leyden Jars) [0]. I was taught that early inventors thought that charge was accumulated within the jar, and it wasn't until much later that it was realised that the shape was irrelevant, only the area and the distance between conductors.

[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leyden_jar

Corning makes some shit for the military that most civilians never even heard of.