by Hobbsicle » Wed Jun 14, 2017 2:48 pm
WiZ
Did the kings and emperors swan around in robes made of asbestos fibre and declare 'Fie, fie, my majesty is such that fire will not even consume my vestments!'? No, there was one more "fie" in there. But otherwise, yeah, pretty much...
Earnest
mmm...so...Period I: are we talking about Stone Age or later? Later used by farmers? by artisans? No to these, even poorer used in houses? To build houses? No, it wasn't relevantly being used for construction. was it considered a poor material? At least not a highly useful material
Period II: used for castles?buildings? Possibly, but still not relevantly Resistance to fire relevant? Yes used in wars? No as a decorative element? Yes-ish as a demonstration of pomp/magnificence? Somewhat, yes Demonstrate their power: in wars? in politics? their power=their splendor/magnificence/technological progress? Even sillier, really, as WiZ noted above
Period III: can we consider this period as solved? In the sense: for its toxicity people pay to remove it from roofs/buildings. Yes,
that is solved
I think with these questions, we've got the gist. No need to belabor details.
*****************SPOILER********************
The answer is asbestos, which I gave away in the title... In the early days of Ancient Greece, its properties weren't fully known, and it was woven into clothing for slaves. When it was discovered that the material was fire resistant (I can only imagine how they discovered a slave's clothing wouldn't burn...), the material suddenly rose in value almost to the level of gold. Now, it was used by only the rich who could afford it, and was woven to make clothes, tablecloths, and napkins. It is rumored that even Emperor Charlemagne would, after a dinner, take his asbestos tablecloth and throw it into the fire, pulling it back out again unscathed. He did this to demonstrate to his guests that he even had magical powers. As a guest, I can only imagine the level of restraint required to keep your eyes from rolling. In the mid-20th century, many houses were built using the material, but today, of course, asbestos has been shown to be dangerous, causing lung problems and other diseases, and is no longer used, and many people will pay to have it removed from their older houses and buildings.