Trivial Trivia - taking trivia to new levels

[Anita]

Thanks for this topic Laurie. I can't imagine walking around in a metal cage much less working in one. How did they sit down?

W. S. Thomson Patents Metal Cage Crinoline http://www.fashion-era.com/crinolines.htm

Women loved the cage crinoline. At the height of its popularity enough steel was produced in Sheffield to make half a million hoops in one week. Ladies were freed from the heavy petticoats that had begun to weigh them down and they were able to move their legs very freely beneath the cage.

The cage crinoline could be awkward in wear and could cause damage to objects, knocking them with a swish in the wrong direction. Even so, it was a welcome alternative to restrictive petticoat layers. Pottery workers found crinolines difficult to work in, but they persisted in wearing them despite causing breakages. The fashion was everywhere and reached small towns quicker than ever before after the railway spread ideas more rapidly from town to country."