Silk, sometimes affectionately called the "Queen of Fibers", is the strongest natural fiber in the world and is used to make expensive fabrics. However, there is more to silk than just being great for making beautiful clothes. Did you know that silk thread can be stronger than certain types of steel? Probably not. We hope to give you a deeper insight into the wonders of silk in our report.THE DISCOVERY OF SILKOne of the only – if not the only – records of the discovery of silk is an ancient Chinese legend. According to this legend, silk was discovered in the garden of Emperor Huangdi around 2700 BCE. The mulberry trees in his garden were being destroyed and he ordered his wife, Xilingshi, to go there and see what was causing the damage to his trees. When Xilingshi went out to examine the trees, she found white grubs eating the leaves of mulberry leaves and spinning shiny cocoons. She then accidentally dropped one of the cocoons into hot water. And when she started playing with the cocoon in the water, long white strings untangled themselves from the cocoon. It is said that this is how silk was discovered. Xilingshi then went to Emperor Huangdi to ask him to give her a grove of mulberry trees, so that she could raise thousands of worms which would weave these magnificent cocoons. The king then committed himself to it. Some accounts claim that it was she who invented the silk bobbin, a device used to assemble fine filaments of silk into a thread thick enough to be used for weaving. Others also credit her with being the creator of the first silk loom. The veracity of these stories still remains uncertain for historians. One thing they are sure of, however, is that silk was first used in China. The Ch...... middle of paper ...... piratical designs (like leaves or cherry blossoms) or animals (like dragons or phoenixes). Images of Chinese silk can be found on the last page of the report. Works Cited “History of Silk”. Silk Road Foundation. Silkroad Foundation, 2000. Web. February 16, 2011. .Hong, Lily Toy. The Empress and the Silkworm. Morton Grove, IL: AlbertWhitman, 1995. “Silk” print. World Book S-Sn Volume 17. 2004. Print.Textile Fabric Consultants Inc., Amy Willbanks. "Silk." www.fabrics.net/amysilk.asp. fabrics INC, February 19, 2011. Web. February 19, 2011. "Who smuggled the silkworm into Japan and broke the Chinese silk monopoly?" Yahoo! Answers. Yahoo! Inc., 2008. Web. February 16. 2011..