Cotton

• 215 pairs of jeans and 1,217 T-shirts can be made from a bale of cotton.
• A bale of cotton weighs about 480 pounds.
• US paper currency is 75 percent cotton lint and 25 percent linen.
• A bale of cotton can be made into 313,600 dollar bills.
• Cotton fabric has been used to me clothing since 2200 BC.
• Scientists at USDA's Agricultural Research Service are creating a new, heat-tolerant fabric by mixing cotton fibers with clay. The combination contton-and-clay product has a heat tolerance of 20-30 degrees Centigrade above that of unbleached cotton.
• Agricultural researchers in North Carolina have created a cotton-flax denim blend that will make jeans more comfortable to wear in summer. Flax is the fiber used for making linen. The cotton-flax blend naturally absorbs and transfers moisture away from the body and helps keep skin cool. It also allows the fabric to dry faster.