[Hobbsicle] As Best As We Can Guess

[Hobbsicle]

There is something that was once only found with the poorest of people, was later used by kings and emperors to demonstrate their power, and today the rich and poor alike do not want it, and may even pay not to have it. What is it?

[hominid]

Something naturally occurring? A living thing? A product from a living thing? A chemical? An element? A mixture/rock/alloy of some sort?

Is it dangerous? Poisonous? Ugly? Unpleasant? Annoying? Was something relevant discovered about it between Part 2 and Part 3? Was a better alternative created? Discovered?

[Earnest]

is that an object? Abstract object? Tangible object?Is it a piece of furniture?A common one?Can I find it in stores?Supermarkets?Specific stores?On the street?On mountains?On plants?In rivers?Does it naturally grow?Can it be found in nature?Did it need a manufacturing in order to be useful in all the three periods? Can I find it in every nation?In every continent?Is that a kind of food?Drink?Did the object need to be bought in Period 1?In Period 2? Does it today(suppose not today right?)?

Timing: only found with the poorest of people during middle age?Earlier?Later?
later used by kings and emperors to demonstrate their power: Renaissance?Earlier?Later?Middle age?Modern times?

used by kings and emperors to demonstrate their power: directly with the object?A material of some sort?Used to display something?Like colors?Used to write?To paint?Used in crowns?In rings?In banners?Is it illustrated in books? Does it represent one or more emperors? Was it used in buildings?Is it toxic?Was it used as raw material directly? Or was it wrought, carved, hand-woven?Was the final product or the raw material that allowed to kings and emperors to demonstrate their power?Could in this period also poorest people afford it?As raw material?As "final product"?

today nor rich nor poor want it: do others want it? Is it useless today?Could it be substituted by electronic? Considered ugly?Is it commonly found?Do people usually pay not to have it?Do they pay someone specifically?In accordance to other services(for instance as a surplus: I pay for eating something and I would pay a surplus if a particular ingredient is substituted by another one)?Was it discovered that is dangerous?Is it an impediment? Is it relevant that the main distinction is made for poor and rich?Does wealth, well being, no hunger influence the usage of the "object" (if it is an object)?

[Hobbsicle]

hominid

Something naturally occurring? Yes A living thing? No A product from a living thing? No A chemical? An element? A mixture/rock/alloy of some sort? This one

Is it dangerous? Yes Poisonous? Yes, or something like it Ugly? Unpleasant? Annoying? No to rest Was something relevant discovered about it between Part 2 and Part 3? Yes Was a better alternative created? Discovered? Largely irrel, but probably

Earnest

is that an object? Abstract object? Tangible object? Yes, it is tangible, but "object" isn't quite the right word, though objects would have been involved Is it a piece of furniture? No A common one? It used to be common Can I find it in stores? Supermarkets? Specific stores? Not anymore, but at one point, it would have been found in specific types of stores On the street? On mountains? This one, maybe? On plants? In rivers? Does it naturally grow? No to others Can it be found in nature? Yes Did it need a manufacturing in order to be useful in all the three periods? Yes Can I find it in every nation? In every continent? This, except Antarctica, I guess, can't vouch for every nation, probably not Is that a kind of food? Drink? No to these Did the object need to be bought in Period 1? In Period 2? Does it today(suppose not today right?)? It could have been bought in all three periods, can be bought now, but only in certain circumstances, I imagine

Timing: only found with the poorest of people during middle age? Earlier? This Later?
later used by kings and emperors to demonstrate their power: Renaissance? Earlier? This Later? Middle age? This Modern times?

used by kings and emperors to demonstrate their power: directly with the object? Yes-ish A material of some sort? This, but formed into objects Used to display something? Like colors? Used to write? To paint? Used in crowns? In rings? In banners? Is it illustrated in books? No to those Does it represent one or more emperors? No, though a particular emperor was known to use it (or so the legend goes, anyway) Was it used in buildings? Some, yes Is it toxic? Ultimately, yes Was it used as raw material directly? Or was it wrought, carved, hand-woven? This Was the final product or the raw material that allowed to kings and emperors to demonstrate their power? Final material, yes Could in this period also poorest people afford it? No As raw material?As "final product"? Probably neither

today nor rich nor poor want it: do others want it? Some might, but mostly no Is it useless today? No Could it be substituted by electronic? No Considered ugly? irrel Is it commonly found? Yes-ish, though increasingly less so Do people usually pay not to have it? Not usually, but not uncommon Do they pay someone specifically? Yes In accordance to other services(for instance as a surplus: I pay for eating something and I would pay a surplus if a particular ingredient is substituted by another one)? No, not quite like that Was it discovered that is dangerous? Yes Is it an impediment? No Is it relevant that the main distinction is made for poor and rich? Not exactly, except for historical context Does wealth, well being, no hunger influence the usage of the "object" (if it is an object)? It did at one time, though not today

[SurfingPikachu]

Is it lead or lead-related?

[Earnest]

is it found in mines? Is it toxic just in particular situations? Like lead?Did people die for being in contact with the material?

are the objects formed by this material swords? weapons?Glasses?

Today: are some kind of roofs made by this particular material? Are mainly demolition firms paid to dismantle it from old houses? Is it still present in some building?

[Hobbsicle]

SurfingPikachu

Is it lead or lead-related? No, but OTRT

Earnest

is it found in mines? Yes Is it toxic just in particular situations? No, generally toxic, just not potently so Like lead? Did people die for being in contact with the material? Yes, with enough contact

are the objects formed by this material swords? weapons?Glasses? No to all

Today: are some kind of roofs made by this particular material? No Are mainly demolition firms paid to dismantle it from old houses? YES Is it still present in some building? YES

[Earnest]

Asbestos? asbestos cement?

[SurfingPikachu]

Is radioactivity involved?

[Hobbsicle]

Earnest

Asbestos? THIS, yes, very good. asbestos cement?

SurfingPikachu

Is radioactivity involved? No

As a riddle, it has been solved. Perhaps, though, you wish to generally explain each piece of the timeline?

[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!'?

[Earnest]

As a riddle, it has been solved. Perhaps, though, you wish to generally explain each piece of the timeline?...ok I'll try...

mmm...so...Period I: are we talking about Stone Age or later?used by farmers? by artisans? used in houses?To build houses?was it considered a poor material?

Period II: used for castles?buildings?Resistance to fire relevant?used in wars? as a decorative element? as a demonstration of pomp/magnificence? Demonstrate their power: in wars? in politics? their power=their splendor/magnificence/technological progress?

Period III: can we consider this period as solved? In the sense: for its toxicity people pay to remove it from roofs/buildings.

[Hobbsicle]

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.

[Earnest]

Very very nice! Thank you!