Some Interesting Facts About Silk

Did you know that silk was discovered byearliest times. And there has been a revival of silk
accident? A silk cocoon had accidentally fallen intoproduction in Western Europe in recent years.
a cup of hot tea. A Chinese Empress Hsi-Ling-ShihThe marriage of Princess Diana as well as the
pulled the threads and discovered silk.Duchess of York have revived the interest in silk.
This material, a natural product which is simply theRecalling the tradition among the monarchy of
secretion from the mouth of a moth caterpillar.Henry I in the 12th century who wore fine silks.
The hungry silkworm is raised today on specialAnd the ceremonial dresses of the archbishops
beds. Today scientists have produced a specialand bishops have been made from local silks;
synthetic diet that is enriched with all the nutritiousmulberry trees were often grown within the
that the moth needs. The interesting thing aboutecclesiastical walls of abbeys and monasteries.
these moths after domesticating them forMore recently silk was used in the making of
thousands of years is that they have a total lackparachutes for the Royal Air Force during the
of inclination to wander far - unlike otherSecond World War and other silk went into
caterpillars plus the moth's inability to fly. Theseprecision instruments in the Royal Greenwich
moth caterpillars are produced all year long insteadObservatories throughout the world. Another
of relying on the annual crop of mulberry leaves.benefit to the industry are the Jacquard loom with
People marvel at the fact that you can get twoits punched cards, which was the forerunner of
kilometers of silk thread from just one silkthe computer and that in the early part of the
cocoon. The methods of twisting, reeling and20th century we have silk to thank for
weaving of the silk have hardly changed since theexperiments in generic engineering.