絲
絲 – Si1 – Silk, Thread
Legend has it that Si Ling-Chi, wife of the legendary Yellow Emperor discovered silk one day by accident when a cocoon fell from a mulberry tree into her tea. When she tried to extract it, she found that the hot tea had caused the cocoon to come apart, and one end of the silk thread was visible. She was amazed to find that it could be unraveled into one continuous, strong thread of incredible length!
The true account of the discovery silk is not known, but is probably not that much unlike the legend. All the best stuff is discovered by accident, you know. It is known that silk production originated in China sometime between 6000 and 3000 BC, and the method was kept secret for thousands of years, reaching the west only in 550 AD.