The String Book

The String Book opens with a note about an 8,000-year-old piece of string that was found at a Stone Age settlement in England, about which the editor of British Archaeology said, I don't think the average person realizes what an important piece of technology string has been over the ages. The String Book is here to set that right. What the author calls a cornucopia of cunning and knowledge fills this informative and charming collection of history, knot instruction, facts and surprising trivia. The chapters and sections are: Roping Yarns Knowing the Ropes; Stringing History; String, Rope and Religions String Along Day-to-Day String; String Fanatics Get Knotted 40 stoppers, reefs, bends, hitches, loops, whippings and shoelacings The Art of String Cultured String; Sporty String Loopy Science Discoveries and Inventions; Stringy Theories Country Ties On Land; At Sea Loose Ends String Miscellany; Stringy Websites. Amusing two-color illustrations highlight the text. Here are examples of the stringiness in The String Book The Ancient Egyptians probably used string to help align pyramids north-south and east-west. The Polynesians possibly used rope to move the Easter Island moai statues into place. To water plants while you're away, trail a piece of wet natural string from a bowl above the plants into the soil. Farmer Francis A. Johnson spared four hours a day to wind a ball of string until he needed a crane to move it. The great 15th century inventor Leonardo da Vinci had many ropey inventions, including a parachute, a ropemaking machine, and rope-operated pulleys. How to do magic tricks, how to tie a Hojojutsu ball, how to weigh a pig, and how to make a seismograph, a cat's cradle, a friendship bracelet, and a jar sling to carry your bottle of water. This is a fun and surprisingly informative book that is a great gift for any reader.