Posted by wryn at mkc-166-182-69.kc.rr.com on January 21, 2002 at 04:29:18:
In Reply to: Thanks for the idea Rocket- The cotton Industry! posted by god2450 on January 21, 2002 at 04:16:57:
You know, after I told him I thought he was sexy (sarcastically, of course) he stopped fucking with me. I must be truly repulsive.
: Posted by ROCKET SCIENTIST at pcp126744pcs.medfrd01.nj.comcast.net on January 20, 2002 at 13:29:25:
: In Reply to: OT - Weird food combinations. posted by wryn on January 20, 2002 at 12:00:09:
: : Ok, Kevin talks about how he eats only the stuff that is bad for him, as probably a lot of us do. I was wondering what weird combinations people do with their food. For instance, I love a bologna, velveeta, mayo, dorito chips sandwich (yes, the chips are in the middle of the sandwich). Also, I used to eat captain crunch and pixie stick sandwiches (a la: John Hughes except without the mayo). So, what are everyone elses?
: WRYN - So you think that a thread about sandwiches is fair game for this forum just because Kevin, at some point in his life, mentioned that he doesn't eat the most nutritious foods?
: Kevin wears clothes too...maybe we should use that to justify initiating a meaningless thread about the history of the textile and cotton industry used in the manufacture of clothing?
: You people are turning this forum into a gay bathhouse with these pathetic threads that have nothing to do with VA...not even remotely.
: Go use your private email for these idiotic conversations.
: ROCKET
: (Because you asked for it)
: The Textile Industry
:
: Whilst farmers were developing new and better methods of agriculture, life in other areas of work had changed little for hundreds of years. Early in the 18th century, most of the population still lived in small, rural settlements. Few people lived in towns, as we now know them.
: Many people worked as producers of woollen and cotton cloth. They cleaned, combed, spun, dyed and
: Many people worked as producers of woollen cloth. They cleaned, combed, spun, dyed and wove the raw material into cloth. They did this work in their own houses. This type of production has become known by the general term of the Domestic (or Cottage) Industry.
: Work within the Cottage Industry was usually divided up between the members of one family. The women and girls were responsible for cleaning the sheep fleeces, carding the wool and spinning it. The process of weaving was physically hard work and, traditionally, it was the men who were responsible for it.
: Generally, at regular intervals, each hand loom weaver's cottage was visited by a cloth merchant. He would bring the raw material and take away the finished cloth to sell at the cloth hall.
: As soon as the new wool arrived, it was washed to clean out all the dirt and natural oil. After this, it was dyed with colour and carded. This was the process of combing the wool between two parallel pads of nails, until all the fibers were lying the same way.
: Next, the carded wool was taken by the spinner and, using a spinning wheel, the thread was wound onto a bobbin. This part of the process was often performed by the unmarried daughters of the household who were called spinsters. The term spinster still exists in English to mean an unmarried lady.
: The spun yarn was then taken to the loom to be woven. In a weaver's cottage, the loom was often to be found on an upper floor. There were large windows in the room to let in plenty of daylight. The loom was worked by both hand and foot movements. Working the loom was quite strenuous work, which is why it was traditionally the work of the men of the household