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> The Woolsack is where the Lord Speaker in the House of Lords sits and resembles a large square cushion covered in red cloth. In 1938 it was re-stuffed with a
by cjs_ac 1y ago
> The Woolsack is where the Lord Speaker in the House of Lords sits and resembles a large square cushion covered in red cloth. In 1938 it was re-stuffed with a blend of wool from Britain and the other wool producing nations of the Commonwealth. The woolsack is thought to have been introduced in the 14th century to reflect the economic importance of the wool trade in England.
During the restuffing in 1938, it was discovered that the original stuffing was largely horsehair.
- ggm 1y agoCall by name, call by value, call by reference. Also c/f "lord privy seal" which is not a lord, nor a privy, nor a seal.
- cjs_ac 1y ago'Lord Privy Seal' is actually an abbreviation for the 'Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal', i.e., the person who (nominally) looks after the seal used to authenticate personal documents 'signed' by the monarch before written signatures came into use. The post of Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal is now usually given to the governing party's leader in the House of Lords, and the monarch's personal seals (which no longer serve any official purpose) are held by the Lord Chamberlain, who is part of the Royal Household and not the Government.
- ggm 1y agoMy comment is a quote, from Angus Calder's book "the peoples war" -he took it from a comment made by a labour minister of the time.
- deleted 1y ago[deleted]
- Rygian 1y agoFor a great pun on the by name/by value: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38858443 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38858443
- tmiku 1y agoI like letter-slash-letter abbreviations but I've never run into c/f before. What does it mean? Do you remember where you first picked it up?
- ggm 1y agoIt's a misuse. CF no slash "compare" in backpieces, references &c. C/F appears to mean something in pre spreadsheet accounting but I did not study accounting at uni, so where I got the idea it needs a slash is beyond me.
- deleted 1y ago[deleted]
- postepowanieadm 1y agoWool had probably too much economic importance to be used in such fashion.
- CGMthrowaway 1y agoEven "down" cushions in high-end couches today are usually a PU foam core wrapped in down batting. It's impractical, expensive and unnecessary to do otherwise. And "down" pillows are often 95% feathers 5% down, unless advertised as 100% down (and will hundreds more) Not that down is wool, obviously.
- b112 1y agoI have to disagree, PU foam has been the most useless cushion padding I've ever experienced in my life. It goes from firm + comfortable to useless in under a year for me in most cases. I've even tried replacing with the firmest PU foam available, and those attempts last maybe 2 years. So I deem it as all those words you use, impractical, expensive, unnecessary to use PU.
- CGMthrowaway 1y agoHave you tried a horsehair core? That would last longer
- b112 1y agoI honestly didn't know that was a thing. I tried goose feathers, but I wasn't happy with the outcome. I'll see about the horsehair, thanks.
- CGMthrowaway 1y agoIt was until the mid-20th century, when PU foam became a thing
- mauvehaus 1y agoAn upholster can also usually wash and reuse horsehair when reupholstering a piece of furniture upholstered with horsehair. It's very resilient stuff(ing). You can also get horsehair fabric for upholstery purposes; it apparently wears like cast iron. Am not an upholsterer, but I work with one somewhat regularly when a client wants an upholstered piece.