How Is Cotton Womern Into Cloth?

Cotton

The long cotton fibers are spun into strong treads which are then woven into cloth.

Many of the towels, sheets, shirts and clothing we enjoy using and wearing are made of cotton.  The cotton plant at harvest time looks like it has a cluster of flurry snowballs made of silky white cotton fibers.

After the cotton has been picked it is carried to a machine called a “gin” which separates the fibers from the seeds.

When the cotton arrives at the textile mill, spinning machines spin and twin the loose fibers into strong threads and wind them on bobbins for weaving.

After the thread has been spun, a machine called a “loom” automatically weaves hundreds of threads into cloth in much the same way we might weave a reed basket.

After the cloth has been woven it goes through many other steps in which it is bleached, dyed, and printed.

Chemicals are added to printed cloth to make sure that the colors remain bright. – Dick Rogers

How Did The Idea Of Birthstone Start?

Birthstone

Many people wear a birthstone to show which month they were born in.

From very early times there have been superstitions about gems.  Ancient people thought that certain gems had magical powers and could protect them from harm and bring good luck.

Some gems were supposed to have an influence on love and marriage.  Others were supposed to strengthen such personal traits as courage, sincerity and loyalty.

The idea of birthstones came from old superstitions that certain gems brought good luck and good health to people, defending on their birth dates.  Each month was given a stone.

The birthstone for the month of May, for example, is the emerald.  Wearing this stone, people thought, would bring love and success to anyone whose birthday was in the month.

Not many people still believe that birthstones affect the wearer’s life.

But many do enjoy wearing their birthstones set in rings, brooches, and other jewelry.

Do you know your birthstone? – Dick Rogers

How Did Bands Originate?

There were bands as far back as early Egyptian times, when groups of musicians banded together to play harps, drums, and other musical instruments.

Everyone likes to hear a band!  People march to the music of marching n\bands in parades. And almost every high school and college has one.

Band

The first bands were nothing like our bands today.  As far back as early Egyptian times, small groups of musicians banded together to play tambourines, harps, drums and reed instruments.  Roman soldiers marched into battle to the sound of trumpet bands.

As interest in bands grew, little bands of musicians wandered from town to town. In time, hands became so popular that every Europeans town had its own band.

Until about the 1700s, any group of instrumental musicians that played together called a band.

Today, we usually think of a band as a group that plays chiefly wind and percussion instruments, such as clarinets, trumpets and drums.  An orchestra is made up of stringed instruments, as well as band instruments. – Dick Rogers

How Does An Altimeter Work?

Altimeter

An aneroid (barometric) altimeter shows a plane’s altitude above the earth by measuring the atmospheric pressure, which lessens as the altitude increases.

An altimeter is an instrument that shows a pilot just how high his airplane is above the earth.  Most altimeters are aneroid (without air) barometers, made to read in feet of altitude instead of inches of mercury.

Like all barometers, the aneroid altimeter shows changes in air pressure, which lessens as the altitude increases.

Behind the dial is a small metal can called a diaphragm from which most of the air has been removed.  As the airplane goes up, the air pressing against the diaphragm lessens, allowing the diaphragm to expand.

The movement of the sides of the diaphragm move the hands on the face of the altimeter.

Still another kind of altimeter is called a radio or radar altimeter.  It measures altitude by sending radio signals to the ground.

It tells the altitude by measuring the time needed for the radio signals to reach the ground and bounce back to the plane. – Dick Rogers

How Does A Barometer Work?

Barometer

A barometer tells us what the weather may be like by measuring changes in air pressure.A barometer is an instrument that measure the pressure of air.

The ocean of air above us pushes down on the earth with a great deal of force.   Just as a scale measures the pressure of your weight, so the barometer tells the weight of the air above it.There are different kinds of barometers. 

Barometers called “aneroid barometers” record changes in air pressure by using an air light box from which most of the air has been removed.

Changes in air pressure causes the box to expand or contract.  These changes controls a pointer on a dial.

When we read a mercury barometer, we read the height of mercury in a glass tube.  Changes in air pressure causes the mercury to rise or fall.

Barometer are very useful to the weatherman.

When the mercury falls rapidly, he knows a storm is quite likely to follow.  A “rising barometer” often foretells better weather – Dick Rogers

How Does A Speedometer Work?

 Speedometer

 

A spinning magnet in a speedometer acts with magnetic force that pulls the pointer and causes it to register the auto’s speed.The speedometer in an automobile tells how fast the car is going.

A speedometer operates by magnetic force.  Inside a speedometer there is a magnet that is connected directly to the car’s transmission by a flexible cable.

When the car moves, gears inside the transmission turn the cable which spins the magnet.

Fitting over the magnet is a special metal drum called a “speedup.”  The speedup is attached to the pointer in the speedometer’s dial.

The spinning magnet acts with magnetic force that pulls the speed cup and it causes the pointer to revolve against the restraint of a spring.

When the car speeds up, the faster the magnet spins and the greater is the force exerted against the spring.

At the magnetic pull gradually overcomes the resistance of the spring, it causes the speedometer to register a higher speed.

When the car stops, the spring pulls the pointer back to zero. – Dick Rogers

Why do men wear buttons on their coat sleeves?

Buttons

Some buttons now used as ornaments once served a useful purpose.  The buttons on men’s coat sleeves were once used to fasten the cuffs back over the long lace frills that decorated shirt sleeves.

The word “button” comes from an old French word which means “to push out.”

This is exactly what the button does.  It sticks out from whatever it is attached to, ready to be pushed out through a buttonhole to fasten a garment together.

Buttons were used as ornaments thousands of years ago, but for a long time it did not occur to people that they could use them to fasten their clothing.

At one time, both men’s and women’s clothes had buttons on the left side.  During the Middles Ages the buttons on a man’s garment were changed to the right side so that he could quickly unbutton his coat with his left hand and at the same time pull out his sword with his right hand. – Dick Rogers