Category Science

               Perfumes were mostly used in the form of incense. The word perfume is derived from the Latin word ‘per’, meaning ‘through’ and ‘fumus’ meaning ‘fumes’.

               On special ceremonial occasions the Egyptians carried scented fat that melted in the heat, which they used to perfume their hair, faces and bodies. Around 1350 BC, the Egyptians and Arabs began to distil perfume from the Madonna lily. Perfumes became more popular in European culture from the 1100s.

               The perfume consisting of a blend of neroli essential oil, rosemary and bergamot, made by two Italians based in Cologne, became popular during the seven years’ war of 1756-63. It was only much later in 1923, that the first perfumes to contain synthetic odours were created by the Frenchman Ernest Beaux.

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               People used to wear jewellery even during olden times. They used to adorn themselves with necklaces, bracelets and pendants made out of wood, seashells, fish bones, pebbles and mammoth tusks.

               From 3800 BC onwards Western Europeans started wearing jewellery. Bone and ivory jewellery making industries flourished in France some 4000 years later. Gold was probably discovered in Mesopotamia before 3000 BC and the jewellery of Sumeria is among the most extraordinary jewellery ever made. It is said that the Sumerian queen Puabi was buried covered in a cloak of beads made from gold. From the 3rd millennium BC onwards the Egyptians started making jewellery.

               The umbrella was first made not to protect one from rain, but from the sun. The Chinese were credited with inventing the first form of umbrella — the silk umbrella. At the same time, rain umbrellas, more like parasols, were being used by the Romans, Greeks, Egyptians, Arabs and Indians, as early as the 4th century B.C.

               Initially, umbrellas were made with many different materials such as feathers, leather and leaves. However, the canopy shape of umbrellas had always been the same. The Romans called their umbrella by the name umbralum, meaning shady place. They were made of cloth stretched over a wooden frame.

               During the 5th century AD, the very first waterproof umbrella was made out of oiled mulberry bark. However, the Italians were the ones who invented the modern umbrella late in the 16th century. The word umbrella is adapted to English from Italian.

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               The shirt evolved from the simple T-shaped undergarment of the Middle Ages. The linen shirt soon became a staple of men’s wardrobes. Shirt collars and cuffs were detachable pieces of lace until the 19th century, when stiff collars and cuffs were attached to the shirt with fancy pins.

               Modern-day shirts with buttons in the front became common after 1900. Soon, stripes, checks, and lines gave more fashion. Although they had been around since the 1920s, chest pockets became a more common feature on shirts during the 1960s.

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               In 1790, the English inventor Thomas Saint invented the first sewing machine design, but he did not successfully advertise or market his invention. His machine was meant to be used on leather and canvas material.

               Barthelemy Thimmoniers, a French tailor, created the prototype for the first commercially produced model in 1830, but his machine was destroyed by rioting tailors afraid for their jobs. Later in 1834, Walter Hunt created the lock stitch, the first true sewing-machine stitch. But his daughter persuaded him not to patent it. Although all later machines used his lock stitch, he failed to profit from it.

               In 1843, a Boston mechanic Elias Howe developed a machine after watching his wife’s arm movements while sewing. He patented it in 1846. In 1851, Isaac Singer, produced one of the first truly practical sewing machines. He also introduced the first home sewing machine in 1856.

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               Primitive men used to stitch clothes using bones and thorns in order to protect themselves from the winter. Later, they started using earliest forms of needles, made out of bone, horn and ivory, with a round hole at one end, or in the middle.

               The Egyptians were the first to use copper pins to fasten their clothes. It was in Europe during the Bronze Age, that the first metal needles and pins with a wire bent over to form the head were made.

               It was in the 14th century that needles were first introduced in Europe. They were brought from the Middle East. In Germany in 1370, the proper steel needle with a hook at the end to hold the thread was made. The first modern-day metal needles with closed eyes were made in the Netherlands. Leather thongs were used instead of threads until spools were introduced in the 1700s. In 1820, Lemnel Wright developed a machine to make needles. In 1844, John Mercer invented cotton threads with sheen.

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