yarn dye & why jeans fade
Here's a shot of a piece of warp yarn from a piece of denim. What you see here is that the yarn is deep blue on the outside and that it gradually fades towards the center. What happens when you repeatedly dip the yarn in indigo dye is that the cotton absorbs dye stuff but it does not become fully saturated, i.e. indigo blue through the entire yarn, because of the properties of the dye stuff combined with the tight spinning of the yarn. On the surface, you have a thick layer of indigo which is what you see on an unwashed pair of jeans. So, when you start wearing your jeans, the surface dye stuff will gradually fade away and as you wear through the jeans, lighter blue shades will become visible. Once you wear through the fabric, you'll see white cotton showing through.
the first synthetic dye stuff
... was discovered/invented by William Henry Perkin of London in 1856. He discovered that aniline could be partly transformed into a crude mixture from which a purple/fuchsia dye stuff could be extracted with the use of alcohol. At the time, all dye stuffs were natural so this was quite a revolution. His discovery coincided with the industrial revolution and the dye stuff eventually became a commercial success.
some facts about going 'true scotsman'
Last weekend I attended a wedding in Scotland and decided to go True Scotsman, which means wearing a kilt without any underwear; it was great fun. The notion of the True Scotsman originates from the military where kilts have traditionally been worn without undergarments. Allegedly, kilt parades were inspected with mirrors in the first half of the 20th century, either with mirrors on barrack floors or sometimes with mirrors attached to golf clubs. The Scottish Tartans Authority now considers the practice obsolete and recommends use of underwear for hygenic and practical reasons. Some good whisky may encourage one to think otherwise.
some facts about helium release valves
In 1967, the helium release valve was patented by Rolex, having been for professional use in saturation diving on watches which are suited for use at depths exceeding 300m. The high pressure causes helium molecules to enter the watch case; the molecules are smaller than oxygen and nitrogen and simply penetrate through the case seals. During decompression, the molecules are unable to escape quickly enough, causing crystal to pop out as a result of excess internal pressure. Hence the automatic release valve, which is a simple spring-loaded one-way valve.
some facts about bilberries, a.k.a. blueberries
Vaccinium Myrtillus is a berry-carrying bush that grows across northern Europe, covering approximately 17% of the area of Sweden. This European variety is correctly known as Bilberry but more commonly referred to as Blueberry, and is not to be confused with the North American variety (Vaccinium Corymbosum and V. Angustifolium). Bilberries have a matte surface due to a thin wax that retains a balanced level of moisture inside the berry. Bilberries contain plenty of anti-oxidants, ascorbic acid and lutein which is thought to be good for eye vision. The berries are also thought to improve digestion and memory. In Sweden, the berry blooms in May/June and is ripe in July/August. It is suitable for use in pies, cup cakes, jams, teas, soups and bilberry spirits. They can also be used to dye textiles.
some facts about beluga whales
Scientific Name:
Merandus Bemans Spuriosious
Average Length:
32 Feet
Average Weight:
7 tons
Life Expectancy:
75 to 100 years
Food:
Carnivorous; eats mostly tuna and harp seal, known, in rare cases, to attack humans.
Habitat:
Coastal Greece and the temperate waters of Scandinavia. Migrates in winters to coasts of Patagonia.
Reproduction:
Belugas mate only about once every twenty years. After a thirty day gestation period, the young are born live, usually in groups of seven or eight babies, known as "Piddlins."
Source: Idiotica.com/Dr Anatole Blickson
the international harvester scout
An important piece of automotive history, the International Harvester Scout was introduced in late 1960 as a competitor to Jeep. It's essentially one of the very first SUVs for civilian use, built in Indiana (US) until 1980.
some facts about cotton
Cotton plants belong to the Gossypium genus and are native to the tropical and sub-tropical regions of the world, including Africa, the Americas, Pakistan and India. The English 'cotton' originates from Arabic qutn. The most widely spread variety is Gossypium Hirsutum which is an indigenous species to the Americas and Mexico where its cultivation has been traced back some 8000 years. Cotton fabrics clothed the people of ancient Egypt, China and India, while the Moors introduced cotton cultivation to Spain in the 9th century. Imports of cotton fabrics to England began on a small scale in the 15th century and grew in the 17th century when the East India Company brought fabrics from... India. Current use of cotton ranges from clothing to coffee filters, money bills, fishnets and bookbinding to name a few.
some facts about hidden rivets
The upper corners on back pockets were riveted on early 19th century jeans, as a reinforcement to increase durability. From 1937 onwards, they were covered to prevent users from scratching furniture and the like. And so the so-called hidden rivets came into existence. The rivets are the exact same but they are attached before the stitching is done rather than on top of the pocket after stitching. This means that the rivet is only visible inside the jeans, as shown in the photo above - showing the back pocket on DR DENIM, style STANLEY. Hidden rivets were generally dropped in the 1980s but have since featured on vintage-homage jeans.
some facts about wankel engines
Conceived by German engineer Felix Wankel in the 1950s, the Wankel engine is an internal combustion engine using a rotary design to convert pressure into motion. Its design allows high rpm while allowing compact dimensions. Applications of the Wankel engine include cars, small aircraft and chain saws, to name a few. Its four-stroke cycle, a typical Otto cycle, takes place in a space between the inside of an oval-like epitrochoid-shaped housing with a rotor that is similar in shape to a Reuleaux triangle but with sides that are somewhat flatter.
While a four-stroke piston engine makes one combustion stroke per cylinder for every two rotations of the crankshaft, each combustion chamber in the Wankel engine generates one combustion stroke per driveshaft rotation, which means one power stroke per rotor orbital revolution and three power strokes per rotor rotation. This, in turn, means that the power output of a Wankel engine tends to be higher than that of a comparable four-stroke piston engine.