So glad I’m not the only one

What happened to his hands?

Linen actually doesn’t take to large scale mechanization very well. It causes the fibers to break into shorter pieces more often, which makes the final fabric rougher and less sturdy. Machine-woven linen also tends to be more loosely woven, which is again less sturdy.

Machines certainly helped some amount, but cotton got a way bigger boost from industrialization. That’s why cotton is so much cheaper than linen today, especially high quality linen.

My understanding was that there are three types of rayon. Or have I been had by Big Cellulose?

• Viscose is the one that gets weaker when wet, and uses aggressive chemicals
• Modal gets stronger when wet, but also aggressive chemicals
• Tencel (brand name for lyocell) specifically refers to that closed loop process with less harsh solvents, and also gets stronger when wet

If something just says “Rayon” you can probably assume it’s viscose. Tencel sellers want you to know it’s Tencel.

Regardless, none of the above are good for warmth, so bad replacement for wool no matter which process they use. I do love my Tencel bedsheets though.

Awesome, thanks so much!

Where do you find those metrics you’re following? I’m also hesitant to drop all precautions as I don’t think my mental health could take an extended bout of brain fog. I’m a bit of a hermit anyway, and like you said, masking is easy.

I hardly see masks in public at all anymore, though, so I’m feeling unsure about how to tell if everybody’s just acting like it’s over when it isn’t, or if I’m holding out way longer than necessary.