Things I'm Learning in School

It has been a while since I have written anything substantial. One excuse was my parents visit, and the other is that I've just finished up midterms and am realizing how intense the rest of the semester is going to be.

But speaking of school, one of the main things I get asked by you all is, "how is school going? What are your classes like?" To answer that I thought I would make an interesting/funny/weird list of things I've learned so far this term. Anything in quotes is a direct quote from one of my professors.

According to the ancient Greeks and Romans, patterned textiles are the mark of barbarians

A Senmurv is a magical creature that is part dog and part bird. When depicted in textile form, it looks like a squirrel.

Scarlet is a kind of fabric. You can make a blue scarlet coat.

In reference to adults making knotted rugs: “Even fat fingers can do fine work, it just takes longer.”

“If you are serious about rugs, you should join the Rug Club.”

In order to make flax plant stalks into usable linen, you have to let it sit out somewhere where it can rot. The longer it rots, the better the quality of the linen.

You can make regenerated fibers out of just about any protein. In the 1930s-50s fibers for clothing were being produced from milk, corn, and ground nuts.

Polyester is boring under a microscope. Cotton is awesome

Silk isn’t spun, it is “thrown.”

Linen naturally prefers to be spun in a particular direction. Cotton is like, “I twist both ways. I’m game for anything.”

If scientists can ever figure out how to produce spider silk commercially, we will one day be able to buy bulletproof T-shirts.

One ounce of silkworm eggs will result in enough silkworms to eat 1 ton of mulberry leaves and then produce 12 pounds of raw silk.

“Nothing is more futile than railing against fashion.”

Before the French Revolution bright pinks and purples, flower patterns, and pastels were all common for men’s wear. It was only during the 19^th century that we got the idea (still around today) that dark colors and neutrals are the only appropriate shades for men.

“Never be led astray by something an art historian says about fashion.”

In the 17^th century it was fashionable to have your hair longer on one side than the other. Sort of like a side mullet (business on the right, party on the left).

High heels were invented for men, and the heels were originally red. They were worn at the court of King Louis XIV of France, an initially only the King, his brother, and their 12 favorite friends were allowed to wear them. Slowly they allowed other men the privilege of wearing red heels. It was a huge honor.

In the 1720s a new style of dress emerged for women. They figured, “The old king is dead, I’m going out in my negligee.”

“When fashion is working properly it predicts the future. The French Revolution was preceded by the revolution in dress.”

In the 1780s various shades of brown were in vogue. Some colors included “Paris mud,” “dead leaf,” and one that roughly translates to “poop of the Prince.”

In a similar vein, the following are the names of fashionable colors for men’s stockings in the early 17^th century: Dying Monkey, Amorous Desires, Sad Friend, Mortal Sin, Sick Spaniard, Resuscitated Corpse, and Colour of Hell.

“The only thing that can successfully stamp out fashion is the fear of death.”