Umbrella

1
Umbrella
Umbrella comes from the Latin umbra meaning
"shade or shadow.
The original function of the umbrella was to
provide shade in the sun, known also as parasol
rather than protection from the rain.
http//lazymeg.com/wordpress/?p1157
http//www.radio86.co.uk/explorelearn/culture/2571
/chinese-inventions-umbrellas-and-parasols

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Umbrella - Technical History
Origins of the basic umbrella dates back three,
four thousand years ago, indicated by ancient art
and artifacts of Egypt, Greece, and China. It is
believed that the beginnings of umbrellas stemmed
from assembled leaves that acted as shelter from
rain or the suns rays. It could also have been
an adaptation of a portable tent.
www.painetworks.com/pages/fa/fa2038.html
The collapsible umbrella is said to have been
invented in ancient China roughly 1,700 years
ago, and fittingly the Chinese character for
umbrella (?) is a pictograph resembling the
design of modern umbrella. In ancient times, the
frames of the umbrellas were made of mulberry
bark or bamboo.
The Chinese decorated paper parasols with
hand-paintings and waxed and lacquered the paper
surface with oil to repel water. Then, via the
Silk Road, the Chinese design of umbrella was
able to spread to Persia and the West.
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Umbrella - Technical History
When umbrellas became widely used during 1700s
in Europe, they were fashioned out of heavy woods
and oilcloth. Women popularized parasols,
decorative sunshades in the 1800s to 1920s that
was made with whalebone or metal frames with fine
silk, lace, and fringe attached.
Todays umbrellas come in a variety of styles an
d innovative modifications from expansion with
the push of a button to one that tells weather
forecast. Most are made of metal or plastic
frames with fabric or clear plastic. Many have
been designed to fold for convenience and
portability.
http//www.islandnet.com/see/weather/almanac/arc2
005/alm05nov.htm
The Ambient Umbrella receives weather statistics
from www.accuweather.com. The handle illuminates
12 hours prior to expected rain.
http//www.trendhunter.com/trends/umbrella-with-br
ains
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Umbrella - Cultural History
Besides its functionality, umbrellas have worked
their way into different cultures. For example,
as an expression of their love, the Japanese
writes their names under an umbrella as would
Americans carving their love and name on the
trunk of a tree.
http//japan-cc.com/umbrella.htm
Furthermore, in addition to providing protection
from the sun and rain, umbrellas also served as a
symbol of status and rank, props and works of
art, and can also be altered into a weapon. For
instance, fair skin was a sign of nobility in
Egypt around 1200 BC, where royalty used parasols
to prevent tanning, and it also symbolize the
vault of heaven opening over a king. The parasol
is still regarded as emblem of rank in Africa.
http//www.uky.edu/AS/Classics/pics/p99.gif
http//www.twilightbridge.com/hobbies/festivals/bu
ddha/umbrella.htm
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Umbrella - Cultural History
In Europe, until mid 18th Century, umbrellas were
considered a womans accessory and men seen using
one suggested that he could not afford or hire a
carriage. However, a servant holding an umbrella
over a gentleman between the carriage and the
door was an indication of respect.
Moreover, umbrellas can be works of art,
decorated with thin silk printed with landscapes
and fixed onto a bamboo frame. Also, it serves as
props for stage performances, from traditional
Chinese umbrella dance to Rihannas Umbrella
music video.
http//libweb.uoregon.edu/ec/e-asia/imagesa/umbrel
la.htm
http//www.flickr.com/photos/goldendragon613/29878
1122/
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Umbrella - Cultural History
Finally, umbrellas also have made their way into
espionage in works of fiction and nonfiction. For
instance, the 1981 James Bond film For Your Eyes
Only depicts an umbrella with clawlike spikes
that protrude from the tips of the canopy. In
reality, in 1978, Georgi Markov, Bulgarian
dissident writer, was assassinated by a suspected
secret Bulgarian agent with an altered umbrella,
which shot a poisonous pellet into the victims
leg.
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Umbrella - sources

• Chinese inventions Umbrellas and parasols ,
  Terhi Mikkolainene, http//www.radio86.co.uk/explo
  re-learn/culture/2571/chinese-inventions-umbrellas
  -and-parasols
• Killer Umbrella in Spy Museum, Velina Nacheva,
  http//www.sofiaecho.com/article/killer-umbrella-i
  n-spy-museum/id_5045/catid_5
  
• Love Love Umbrella, http//japan-cc.com/umbrella.h
  tm
  
• Un-brellas HOW SHOULD YOU STAY DRY? Laura Shin,
  http//www.slate.com/id/2116557
  
• Umbrella, http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Umbrella
• The World Book Encyclopedia, Guerl, Louis M.,
  1991 World Book Inc
  
• THE UMBRELLA, Keith C. Heidorn, PhD, The Weather
  Doctor's Weather Almanac , http//www.islandnet.co
  m/see/weather/almanac/arc2005/alm05nov.htm
  

http//www.slate.com/id/2116557/
http//japan-cc.com/umbrella.htm
http//www.sofiaecho.com/article/killer-umbrella-i
n-spy-museum/id_5045/catid_5

http//www.flickr.com/photos/goldendragon613/29878
1122/
https//www.mrslinskitchen.com/index.asp?PageActio
nVIEWPRODProdID17987

http//www.antipixel.com/blog/archives/2004/01/16/
acolyte_displaying_umbrella.html