Cotton: How It Helped Build The Modern World

Everything Everywhere Daily: History, Science, Geography & More

Gary Arndt

History, Education

4.7 • 2.3K Ratings

🗓️ 27 April 2026

⏱️ 14 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

It is soft, common, and something most people wear almost every day. Yet behind this humble fabric lies one of the most dramatic stories in human history. Cotton connected ancient civilizations, built global trade networks, fueled the Industrial Revolution, enriched empires, and helped sustain slavery. Few plants have had a greater impact on the modern world. From fields in India and Peru to factories in Britain and plantations in America, cotton changed everything it touched. Learn more about the remarkable history of cotton on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily. Sponsors Samsara Don’t wait for the next accident to take action. Head to Samsara.com/EVERYTHING ButcherBox Get your choice between chicken breast or top sirloin for a year OR ground beef for life, PLUS $20 off when you go to ButcherBox.com/everything Quince Go to quince.com/daily for 365-day returns, plus free shipping on your order! Mint Mobile Save 50% on Unlimited premium wireless plans starting at $15/month at MintMobile.com/EED Audible Listen to Project Hail Mary Audible.com/hailmary Fast Growing Trees Get 20% off your first purchase when using the code DAILY at checkout at fastgrowingtrees.com/daily Subscribe to the podcast! https://everything-everywhere.com/everything-everywhere-daily-podcast/ -------------------------------- Executive Producer: Charles Daniel Associate Producers: Austin Oetken & Cameron Kieffer Become a supporter on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/everythingeverywhere Discord Server: https://discord.gg/Ds7Rx7jvPJ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/everythingeverywhere/ Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/everythingeverywheredaily Twitter: https://twitter.com/everywheretrip Website: https://everything-everywhere.com/ Disce aliquid novi cotidie Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	It's soft, common, and something most people wear almost every day. Yet behind this humble
0:05.8	fabric lies one of the most dramatic stories in human history. Cotton-connected ancient civilizations,
0:12.2	built global trade networks, fueled the Industrial Revolution, enriched empires, and helped sustain
0:18.3	slavery. Few plants have had greater impact on the modern world.
0:22.9	From fields in India and Peru to factories in Britain and plantations in America,
0:27.6	cotton changed everything it touched.
0:30.5	Learn more about the remarkable history of cotton on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily.
0:35.9	Music On this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily.
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1:45.3	Cotton comes from plants in the genus Gossipium, a group of shrubs native to tropical
1:50.9	and subtropical regions.
1:53.1	Cotton fibers grow around the seeds of a plant.
1:55.8	Once clean, spun, and woven, they create a cloth that is soft, breathable, washable,
2:00.6	and comfortable in warm climates. that is soft, breathable, washable, and comfortable in warm
2:01.6	climates. Compared with wool, cotton was lighter and cooler. Compared with linen, it was often easier
	...

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