Tuesday, January 8, 2013

F8. This variety of crab, Ovalipes ocellatus, gets its colloquial name from a type of cheap printed fabric that its patterned shell resembles. The textile originated in India and was quite the bone of contention between British importers of the cloth and the English manufacturers of similar fabric from the early 18th century till well over a century afterwards. What textile?

A. Calico

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