The earliest rope that archaeologists have found was fifty thousand years old and a sad piece of work it was: Three vines woven together. If the Neanderthal who created it was MY son, that “rope” would NOT even get a spot on the refrigerator.
The earliest rope that we can CALL “rope” without charity or a trace of sarcasm was used in ancient Egypt a few thousand years ago. Rope was essential for the building of hugely over-sized tombs and gigantic statues of human/lion hybrids who didn’t exist.
Of the many ways to execute someone, rope is considered by experts to be the most flaccid.
The most popular knot? The square knot. The least popular knot? Auntie Anne’s liver-flavored pretzels with a ketchup and Windex dipping sauce.
The first machine-made rope? Created with a steam-powered machine in 1794 (The Webster Ropery). Production started out at low levels due to the U. K.’s shortage of vitamin-deficient orphans to run the machines and donate limbs.
Ships needed rope to function. If the anchor wasn’t fastened to the ship with rope, the only way the boat would stay in place would be if it had lingering feelings for the anchor.
A lariat is a length of rope with a slip knot at one end. A lot of cowboys carry them. They are perfect for when you want to strangle a cow but don’t feel like walking over to it…
Rope used to be made primarily from hemp. Hemp is a type of marijuana plant high in fiber but with almost no THC. Another name for hemp is, “Are YOU feeling anything, yet?”.
There have been a lot of advances with synthetic rope for mountain climbers who don’t want a rope to break their backs or snap if they lose footing and fall. If the same money were applied to developing a drug that makes you avoid climbing mountains, the problem would be solved already… How ’bout, “I Can’t Believe it’s Not Vertigo”?
REMEMBER: Without rope, it would be much harder to dangle things under other things.
Potatoes and the Promise of More Potatoes 
You have to wonder who looked at the first hemp rope and thought, yeah. I’d smoke that.
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I wonder how they came up with the idea of smoking catnip, pre-tobacco…
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Hemp was grown extensively here during WW II. One day we came up on some really tall plants growing by RR tracks in a rural area. We came back that night and harvested them, filling the back of J’s van. Then he realized he had to stop for gas on the way home. [What was he smoking that he didn’t gas up first?] We got it home, hung it upside-down in the attic to dry, then stripped the leaves from the plants and discovered quickly that hemp is not the same as marijuana.
Is the square knot really more popular (as in most often tied) than the granny knot?
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The square knot is the knot we feel we deserve; but, the granny knot is what we settle for. To answer your question, though, I don’t know what the most popular knot is. We need to get a grant from the government and look into this.
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