1 00:00:03,839 --> 00:00:08,470 Only antiquity knows when cotton was first used in the manufacture of cloth. 2 00:00:09,079 --> 00:00:12,109 Traveling through history tells us how early developments were made 3 00:00:12,359 --> 00:00:15,199 and how changes in technology continually pushed 4 00:00:15,199 --> 00:00:17,520 cotton manufacturing ahead of its time. 5 00:00:18,159 --> 00:00:19,229 With each advancement, 6 00:00:19,399 --> 00:00:22,440 the textile industry has seen cotton use diversify 7 00:00:22,440 --> 00:00:25,079 and expand in new and inventive ways. 8 00:00:26,149 --> 00:00:28,549 Although the spinning of cotton yarn and the weaving of 9 00:00:28,549 --> 00:00:31,620 cotton cloth are said to have originated in India, 10 00:00:32,150 --> 00:00:35,950 Egypt claims to be the first to have explored these techniques. 11 00:00:36,229 --> 00:00:37,740 Across the globe in Peru, 12 00:00:38,220 --> 00:00:41,139 similar yarn manufacturing techniques were being developed. 13 00:00:41,560 --> 00:00:45,540 The Bible talks about the cotton curtains that hung in Solomon's temple. 14 00:00:46,069 --> 00:00:48,889 Early Greek historians wrote of preferences for cotton 15 00:00:48,889 --> 00:00:51,580 fleece over wool in its quality alone. 16 00:00:52,669 --> 00:00:55,750 Cotton was increasingly grown for textile purposes from 17 00:00:55,750 --> 00:00:58,349 these early years throughout the succeeding centuries. 18 00:00:59,419 --> 00:01:01,689 Knowledge of cotton goods spread by armies, 19 00:01:01,979 --> 00:01:02,689 explorers, 20 00:01:02,759 --> 00:01:05,330 and traders allowed for increased interest, 21 00:01:05,620 --> 00:01:07,489 and by the end of the 15th century, 22 00:01:07,739 --> 00:01:09,940 Britain had recorded the first trade of cotton. 23 00:01:11,050 --> 00:01:14,779 Techniques in manufacturing were improved upon during these early centuries, 24 00:01:14,930 --> 00:01:17,199 and advancements continued to this day. 25 00:01:17,849 --> 00:01:22,529 Earliest techniques began as basic ideas of twisting and rolling fibers 26 00:01:22,529 --> 00:01:25,440 between the thumb and forefinger to form a single thread. 27 00:01:26,129 --> 00:01:30,000 Early designs used this theory as a basis for the first spinning wheel. 28 00:01:30,690 --> 00:01:34,410 Leonardo da Vinci developed drawings that were later turned into the invention 29 00:01:34,410 --> 00:01:39,120 of the Saxony wheel in 1555 by Johann Juergen of Germany. 30 00:01:39,940 --> 00:01:43,290 This invention in the midst of the great industrial revolution 31 00:01:43,660 --> 00:01:46,180 differed from the original spinning wheel with a 32 00:01:46,180 --> 00:01:48,889 foot treadle by which the spindle could be revolved 33 00:01:49,139 --> 00:01:51,690 and with a cranked axis on a larger wheel. 34 00:01:52,360 --> 00:01:55,430 This new design enabled production to increase as well 35 00:01:55,430 --> 00:01:57,779 as greatly improving the quality of the yarn. 36 00:01:58,389 --> 00:02:00,540 A tremendous technological breakthrough, 37 00:02:00,870 --> 00:02:03,150 this first spinning wheel was the foundation for 38 00:02:03,150 --> 00:02:06,180 most future developments in yarn production technology. 39 00:02:07,180 --> 00:02:09,699 Most notable of the early inventions were the 40 00:02:09,699 --> 00:02:13,259 introduction of the self-acting mule in 1825, 41 00:02:13,779 --> 00:02:15,850 ring spinning in 1828, 42 00:02:16,240 --> 00:02:19,490 and revolving flats on the card in 1834. 43 00:02:20,179 --> 00:02:24,470 A machine that could automatically comb cotton was introduced in 1846, 44 00:02:24,889 --> 00:02:26,000 and 50 years later, 45 00:02:26,089 --> 00:02:28,050 a more improved form emerged. 46 00:02:29,080 --> 00:02:33,589 New yarn manufacturing technologies continue to impact the industry today 47 00:02:33,839 --> 00:02:36,589 by increasing efficiency and improving quality.