Silk

During the trip to Lyon we toured the silk district.  What was interesting to learn was what silk came from.  I always knew that the silk was produced by the silk work in the past but I had no idea that it is still what is used to produce silk.  I learned about how their were factories in Asia and Brazil that have mechanicalized the process of getting the silk from the worm.  Another thing that I found interesting was that it takes four cacoons worth if silk to get one thread of silk when woven together.

The Discovery of Silk

I thought that both sites we visited in Lyon, France were very interesting.  I did particularly like learning how silk was discovered.  Before going to the Madison des Canuts, I never would have guessed that a princess discovered how to make a strand of silk fiber, after a silk worm cocoon fell into her tea cup. This was a fun story to listen to and even more exciting to learn that the process of making silk fibers was kept secret, until spies were sent in to steal the secret.  What made the story so entertaining was that the spies were monks.  Overall, the silk workshop was very interesting and one of my favorite stops on the trip.

Beginning of film

At the Lumiere house, I was really excited to see the way film started and it what ways was it filmed. I was pleasantly surprised to find out that they had interactive screens there that allowed me to watch some of the early movies. Getting the chance to see the films up close, gave me a better understanding of what made the audiences so excited to see these short movies. As I watched them, I found myself mesmerized by the blocking and stories to them. I can't even begin to imagine what it would've been like for someone like me during that time. Film was new and different which is why everyone packed into theatres to see them. It was a great expierence for me to see how film first began.

"Acting" Unaware

At the Lumiere Brothers Museum, I learned that in some of their first films, the brothers didn't hire professional actors to play roles. Instead, they asked local factory workers to be in the movie. They were told to ignore the camera for their "role." This example shows how having hands-on experience with a topic can help ensure trust in experts. If the listener has a bit of knowledge about a topic previously, the expert's findings, reports, and opinions can more easily be trusted.

Silk factory

We visited the silk factory and it was a neat experience. I knew that silk was made out of silk worm, but I did not know what they looked like. The bug is very creepy. I thought it was very interesting that they got the silk from the caccoons of the bug and that they killed the bugs while they were in the caccoons before they can take the silk from the caccoon. I also really liked watching here do the hand threading on making the fabric and how they work the machines. Lastly, I think it is neat they could improve the machine to an electric loom so they can make items for ships and computers. The technology has really improved, but even though the workers had long hours I think it would still be neat to say that would made something by hand.

Silk Production

Today we traveled to Lyon and we toured Tour of Maison des Canuts which produces silk and the part of the tour that intrigued me the most was how long it took to make and how expensive silk actually is. It takes about 8 hours to make only a 35cm square and about 3 days to produce a meter. The price of the meter long product was around $2000. The price can also depend on the color and if it was made with felt or not. In addition to the felt, when they made it, they made tiny loops with the material and then had to cut each loop with a blade. Weaving is very time consuming and I can now understand why it is incredibly expensive. 

A Brutal Fight

Both Hook and Huygens  wanted to claim that they made the first balance spring watch. The problem was only one of them could have that priveledge. The balance spring watch would be used by fishermen  to tell time out at see. Huygens  claimed the invention was his but Hook thoroughly upset, declared to the Royal Society. After a while, the Royal Society declared Huygens the sole owner but that was not okay with Hook. Hook went to the King and declared the invention and offered a sample of the watch itself. In the end Hook may have won the fight but he ended up stealing one of Huygens ideas.