7 Exciting Facts About Rugs

Sinking your toes into the soft plush pile of a beautiful rug after a long day at work is one of the most comforting feelings. It would be an understatement to claim that carpets are only used for decorative purposes. Of course, they do improve a room's appearance tremendously; however, they also provide many practical solutions. They are soft and cozy, absorb loud noises, and deliver very economical insulation.

Rugs serve us with many essential purposes, and we have summarized a few of these here. In this blog, we will also mention a few lesser-known facts about Rugs.

In 1949, a Pazyrk Carpet was found in a Siberian burial mound. On inspection, it dated back to the 5^th century BC! The cavemen used skins from animals such as bears or tigers as some form of a rug in cave entrances to scare off predators. The nomadic people also used rugs for many household functions such as protecting from cold and dust, building their tents, and sleeping on a soft layer. Many rugs from The Renaissance Period (14^th – 17^th century) have also survived today and are considered priceless antiques.

By a general rule, anything bigger than 40 square feet is considered a carpet, not a rug. The world's largest carpet was WOVEN to cover 60,546 square feet! It is located in Sheikh Zayed Al Nahyan Mosque in Abu Dhabi. It was made under the direction of Iranian Artist Ali Khaliqi in 2007. It features over 2.2 billion hand-tied knots and weighs more than 12 tons.

This might not be as much of a fun fact, but it sure is an important one. Rugs are excellent when it comes to trapping specks of dust, pollutants, and allergens. While this is a desirable factor as it keeps the air quality of our rooms clean, the opposite is quite unfavorable as well. The germs will thrive in the rugs if they aren't regularly cleaned, and can be detrimental our health. That's why it is recommended to professionally clean rugs every 12-18 months.

Here are four more exciting facts about rugs to satisfy your appetite.

• The phrase "to sweep something under the rug" originated in 1963.
• The most expensive rug ever sold was sold for $33.7 million. It was a 17th century Persian Carpet known as the "Sickle-Leaf Carpet," sold on 13th June 2013.
• During World War I, carpet looms were used to make tents and navy blankets for the U.S. Army and Navy.
• Rugs were placed as saddles on horses in some cultures. When those horses died, their rugs were also buried with them like a medal of honor.

If you’re looking for a rug to fact-check some of these facts for yourself, head on over to illuminatecollectiverugs.com.