see url: http://www.nytimes.com/books/97/05/18/reviews/pynchon-luddite.html
" But it's important to remember that the target even of the original
assault of 1779, like many machines of the Industrial Revolution, was
not a new piece of technology. The stocking-frame had been around since
1589, when, according to the folklore, it was invented by the Rev.
William Lee, out of pure meanness. Seems that Lee was in love with a
young woman who was more interested in her knitting than in him. He'd
show up at her place. ''Sorry, Rev, got some knitting.'' ''What,
again?'' After a while, unable to deal with this kind of rejection, Lee,
not, like Ned Lud, in any fit of insane rage, but let's imagine
logically and coolly, vowed to invent a machine that would make the
hand-knitting of hosiery obsolete. And he did. According to the
encyclopedia, the jilted cleric's frame ''was so perfect in its
conception that it continued to be the only mechanical means of knitting
for hundreds of years.''
I don't remember being taught this in my industrial history lessons at
school...:-).
Enjoy... :-).
ATB
Dougie.
