In ancient and primitive times, it was the main thing you spent money on. The transformation of standard living to the modern world is a huge part of it. And your book has a mix of both. You know, the improvements in in hand creation of these things were expensive. So dying led to the chemical industry. Gave us wonder drugs and agricultural chemicals,. fertilizers, photographic chemicals; plastic, synthetic fibres - all kinds of things. There's no such thing as natural fibres they're all genetically modified.