PURPLE - A Colourful History
It’s safe to say that you can expect to pay the same price for the same fabric, regardless of the colour. But only a few generations ago, the cost depended on the colour of the cloth because some dyes were so expensive to obtain.
Purple was so expensive that only royalty could afford it!
Tyrian Purple, otherwise known Royal Purple or Imperial Purple, dyes fabric a beautiful deep purple shade. In ancient times, the dyestuffs were obtained from the Mediterranean sea snail. The purple is used by the snail as part of predatory and defensive behaviour – the secretion can be extracting by poking and antagonizing the snail, and the resulting goo would gradually become purple on exposure to sunlight. ‘Milking the snail’ was a renewable resource, but so labour-intensive that usually the snails were crushed completely to extract the colour. Mountains of snail shells have been found at the ancient sites of Sidon and Tyre – they were harvested to such extremes that for a long time, the Murex snail was considered extinct.
Keep reading: www.charlesparsonsinteriors.com...
Have you got New Zealand's best shed? Show us and win!
Once again, Resene and NZ Gardener are on the hunt for New Zealand’s best shed! Send in the photos and the stories behind your man caves, she sheds, clever upcycled spaces, potty potting sheds and colourful chicken coops. The Resene Shed of the Year 2026 winner receives $1000 Resene ColorShop voucher, a $908 large Vegepod Starter Pack and a one-year subscription to NZ Gardener. To enter, tell us in writing (no more than 500 words) why your garden shed is New Zealand’s best, and send up to five high-quality photos by email to mailbox@nzgardener.co.nz. Entries close February 23, 2026.
Poll: 🤖 What skills do you think give a CV the ultimate edge in a robot-filled workplace?
The Reserve Bank has shared some pretty blunt advice: there’s no such thing as a “safe” job anymore 🛟😑
Robots are stepping into repetitive roles in factories, plants and warehouses. AI is taking care of the admin tasks that once filled many mid-level office jobs.
We want to know: As the world evolves, what skills do you think give a CV the ultimate edge in a robot-filled workplace?
Want to read more? The Press has you covered!
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52.2% Human-centred experience and communication
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15% Critical thinking
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29.9% Resilience and adaptability
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2.9% Other - I will share below!
Brain Teaser of the Day 🧠✨ Can You Solve It? 🤔💬
Make a hearty dish. Take just half a minute. Add four parts of kestrel. Then just add one. What have you made?
(Trev from Silverdale kindly provided this head-scratcher ... thanks, Trev!)
Do you think you know the answer? Simply 'Like' this post and we'll post the answer in the comments below at 2pm on the day!
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