19 Interesting Facts About Cotton

The importance of cotton is hard to overstate; this plant quite literally clothes nearly half of the world, despite the increasing popularity of synthetic fabrics year after year. In addition to clothing, cotton is used to produce other essential items, some of which are irreplaceable. Once, cotton was harvested by hand, a labor-intensive task, but advances in science have led to the development of machines that significantly ease this process.

Facts About Cotton:

1. In addition to yarn, cotton is used to make threads, cotton wool, and even explosives used in the mining industry.
2. Approximately 95% of cotton’s composition is cellulose.
3. Cotton is excellent at absorbing moisture. If enough is present, cotton can absorb so much that it increases in volume by 40%.
4. Most fabrics lose some of their strength when wet, but cotton fabrics, on the contrary, become stronger when saturated with water.
5. Fabrics made from cotton are sensitive to sunlight. Studies have shown that 940 hours of exposure to light is enough to reduce their strength by half.
6. The strength of cotton is comparable to that of silk and exceeds that of wool.
7. In the 20th century, the bodies of some “Trabant” cars in East Germany (GDR) were made from compressed cotton production waste. As a result, there were several cases in rural areas where goats successfully chewed on the car bodies.
8. Archaeologists have determined that humans first began cultivating cotton around 7,000 years ago.
9. In Uzbekistan, poorly planned cotton cultivation and excessive water withdrawal for irrigating cotton fields have led to desertification of significant areas and the near disappearance of the Aral Sea.
10. Breeders have developed varieties of cotton in different colors, eliminating the need for dyeing.
11. India ranks first in the world in cotton production.
12. The first machine-woven cotton clothing was made in the United Kingdom in 1730.
13. Cotton remains the most popular and widely used fabric in the world today.
14. Cotton seeds are used to produce oil and flour.
15. Some types of cotton are actually trees that can grow up to 5-7 meters (16-23 feet) tall.
16. Modern machines can harvest up to 700-800 kilograms (1,543-1,764 pounds) of cotton each day. Manual labor is about 10 times less efficient, not to mention extremely strenuous.
17. One ton of cotton is enough to produce about 600-700 pairs of jeans or pants.
18. In ancient China, cotton was more valuable than silk, which was abundant there, due to its rarity.
19. Roman legionaries wore clothing woven from cotton.