the.com/merino
The sheep wearing the world's coziest sweater so it can eventually become yours.
means A breed of sheep prized for exceptionally fine, soft wool, or the luxuriously fine fabric and yarn made from it.
from From Spanish 'merino', the name of the celebrated fine-wooled sheep of Spain, whose flocks were so valuable that exporting them was once forbidden under penalty of death. The word's deeper roots are debated: it may come from the Berber tribe 'Banu Marin', whose region in North Africa was associated with the breed, or from a Spanish term for the official who oversaw seasonal sheep migrations. Either way, it travels to English by the late 18th century, when Spain's monopoly finally broke and these golden-fleeced sheep spread across the world.
- fiber width
- Thinner than human hair, so it never itches
- spanish empire
- Exporting merino was once punishable by death
- odor magic
- Naturally fights smell, worn for weeks unwashed
- temperature trick
- Warms when cold, cools when hot, somehow
- wrinkle skin
- Folds boost wool yield, breeders bred them deliberately
merino sheep — spanish breed that produces the finest wool, originating in medieval iberia with flocks of 3+ million by the 16th century
australian merino — bred in australia since 1797, now comprises 90% of the country's sheep population and dominates global wool production