The only thing worse than accidentally breaking one of your favorite fragile possessions is when someone else accidentally breaks one of your favorite fragile possessions. They didn't mean to do it, but it happened anyway and it's their fault. But holding a grudge or getting angry doesn't improve the situation at all, nor is it appropriate to throw them for a guilt trip, so you're just left to silently mourn your loss. I'm sure I've accidentally broken someone else's prized possession before, but I can't remember doing so. I can't even remember the clichéd "ball into lamp" event taking place in my childhood. But I can certainly remember some of my lost or damaged possessions, though, so I have to conclude that, no matter how much initial guilt is felt, in the long term at least, it's easier being the breaker than the breakee. Perhaps this is also because the breaker, for reasons mentioned above, often doesn't know just how important the broken object was to the other person.
It sure is amazing how attached we can get to silly little objects, even the cheap and easily replaceable ones. The use of the word "love" really doesn't seem that hyperbolic when you see people lose or be reunited with favorite possessions.
Because you'll ask... I swept up a few thousand pieces of my Crookes Radiometer this weekend. That's what got me thinking about this.