Hemp facts and some fun hemp history.

• Buddhist tradition says that during six steps of denial, which led him to enlightenment, Buddha ate one hemp seed per day.
• Notes about state banquet of Chinese dynasty Chou (approx. 1000 B.C.) shows that boiled hemp seed was a part of cereal meals.
• Till 1983 hemp paper made 75% of the world paper production.
• After years of research Henry Ford made cars with plastic bodywork. The solidity of the material was provided by mixture of cellulose fiber, including hemp. It resists 10 times stronger hit than steel without changing its shape.
• Thanks to its high protein intake hemp seed can be used as a meat replacement in the same way as soybeans.
• Polish cooks still use hemp seed as a part of festive bakery.At the end of 19th century queen Victoria received hemp as a medicine for menstrual cramps from her physician sir John Reynolds.
• Hemp can improve solidity of all materials, increase nutrition value of every meal and improve quality of every product.
• We have not seen a material with such universal properties on Earth.
• In 1492 Christopher Columbus brought hemp seeds to Indians.
• In 18th century in England was the most valued reward – British citizenship, given to foreigners who decided to plat hemp and those, who refused were fined.
• Etymologists from the Hebrew university in Jerusalem confirmed, that the “kaneh bosém” used for preparing “holy oil” is hemp (see Exodus 30,23).
• Hemp don´t need pesticides, because almost no insect is attacking it. There is no need for herbicides, because it is growing so fast that no knapweed can compete with it.
• Since more than 1000 B.C. till 1983 hemp was the most important agricultural plant in the world.
• Everything leads to that oldest known fabric was made of hemp, which was manufactured already in 8th century B.C.” says
• The Columbian History of the World from 1981.
• George Washington and Thomas Jefferson were planting hemp on their plantations. As US ambassador in France Jefferson was taking high risk, when he wanted to get very expensive and high quality hemp seeds smuggled by a secret agent from China. For Chinese mandarins (political leaders) were the hemp seeds so valued, that its export was considered a felony.
  We saw down the trees 3 times faster than it grows. A field of hemp provides almost 4x more raw fiber than its equivalent of wood. A tree grows for approximately 20 years to become an adult plant. Hemp for 4 months!
• One of the drafts of United States Declaration of Independence was written on hemp paper.
• Ecological hemp paper is more solid, qualitative and durable than paper made of wood. Hemp paper is used for production of banknotes and archives.
• Hemp is valuable and inexhaustible fuel for the future. With 11 500 l of methanol per hectare yearly it can replace diesel.
• From all plants on Earth hemp is using the solar energy most effectively.

Adapted from: www.konopnyshop.cz