Has been always a mystery to me. Since centuries BC, to pre-industrial eras. For all those sail ships and constructions and many things.

Found a video that deserves sharing. But is not in English. You should be able to enjoy it anyway ---> https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=137162458444242

14 hours ago, Externet said:

Has been always a mystery to me. Since centuries BC, to pre-industrial eras. For all those sail ships and constructions and many things.

Found a video that deserves sharing. But is not in English. You should be able to enjoy it anyway ---> https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=137162458444242

Here is a description in English: https://rope-source.co.uk/ropes/how-is-rope-made-a-comprehensive-guide/

This is by a British manufacturer, James Lever, near Manchester.

A couple of years ago I visited the surprisingly interesting Jute Museum in Dundee, where among other things they had some of the machinery used to process jute fibres into ropes and other products made from jute yarn. This was the principal industry of Dundee in the c.19th.Apparently the jute industry there took over from processing flax from the Baltic into linen, Britain have used its early Industrial Revolution to become pre-eminent in mechanising the linen industry. Dundee was also at the time a centre of whaling in the Arctic and it turned out that whale oil was ideal for lubricating jute fibres, to enable them to be worked. So a happy synergy for the town.

Incidentally, Dundee’s expertise in building ice-proof whalers (with a heavily reinforced wooden bow) was what led Scott to choose Dundee to build the ship Discovery for his first Antarctic expedition, which is now preserved there in dry dock.

I had been led to believe Dundee was rather a dump, but in fact I passed a very informative day there.

Edited October 30, 2025Oct 30 by exchemist

26 minutes ago, exchemist said:

I had been led to believe Dundee was rather a dump, but in fact I passed a very informative day there.

I have to agree that Dundee is rather depressing in parts. I often wondered why they didn't brighten up the old place by painting all that dirty grey render, and is currently in the doldrums with the decline in the offshore oil industry.

I also agree that it has some very interesting bright spots. Did you get up the Law or the astronomical observatory ?

(Law in scottish mean a conical hill.)

Dundee was also famous for children's comics and timex watches.

Finally, like some university cities, Dundee University has an interesting museum, particularly in the medical sciences as several innovations came from there.

Exeter too is in that lucky position, but I realise that, coming from Oxford these museums are on a much smaller scale than you may be used to.

Edited October 30, 2025Oct 30 by studiot

3 minutes ago, studiot said:

I have to agree that Dundee is rather depressing in parts. I often wondered why they didn't brighten up the old place by painting all that dirty grey render, and is currently in the doldrums with the decline in the offshore oil industry.

I also agree that it has some very interesting bright spots. Did you get up the Law or the astronomical observatory ?

(Law in scottish mean a conical hill.)

Dundee was also famous for children's comics and timex watches.

Finally, like some university cities, Dundee University has an interesting museum, particularly in the medical sciences as several innovations came from there.

Exeter too is in that lucky position, but I realise that, coming from Oxford these museums are on a much smaller scale than you may be used to.

No I didn’t visit those things but they do have an outpost of the Victoria and Albert museum, curiously. Big modern thing on the Tay waterfront, next to Discovery.

On 10/30/2025 at 1:31 AM, Externet said:

Manufacturing ropes...

Found a video that deserves sharing. But is not in English. You should be able to enjoy it anyway ---> https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=137162458444242

"Electro luminescent (EL) light is technically described as a Light Emitting Capacitor (LEC)."

I have rather something else than what you wanted to share..

On 10/30/2025 at 4:20 PM, exchemist said:

I had been led to believe Dundee was rather a dump, but in fact I passed a very informative day there.

I was rather impressed that the first thing I saw on emerging from the railway station was a Chinese takeaway called the 'Kerry Oot'.

Mind you, that was close on fifty years back.