The history of umbrella dates back to the 11th century. Palm leaves were used as umbrellas more than 4000 years ago. Pictures of umbrellas can be found in ancient artifacts of China, Egypt and Greece. At first, the main purpose of umbrellas was to provide shade from the sun. Many kings, emperors and religious leaders have been seen using them in different forms and sizes. With time, waterproof umbrellas entered the scene that were made with different kinds of materials ranging from wood and plastic to steel and bubble wrap. Later on, Germany and many other countries started diversifying by making portable pocket umbrellas specifically for students and people that are on the go.
According to many researchers, the use of umbrella began in ancient Egypt. Nobles and people of high authority were seen using different kinds of umbrellas to protect themselves from scorching heat. Back then there was no concept of water or rain in Egypt. According to history, China is recorded to be inventing the first waterproof umbrella. Many royals and noble personnel used foldable, water proof and multi-tiered umbrellas for many years. Besides from personal use, umbrellas have been seen at events and ceremonies for decoration purposes as well.
In today’s rapidly progressing society, there are more than 10 types of umbrellas available in the market. Some of them include, automatic, classic, pocket and high wind. The classic umbrella has been available in the market for the past many generations. It has a simple open and shut mechanism with no extra features or fancy materials. Then comes the small and lightweight pocket umbrellas that have a tiny frame of around 9 inches and are not very useful in heavy rain. Thirdly, there’s the most popular one referred to as an automatic umbrella. This one is a sophisticatedly designed umbrella that can be opened with just one click of a hand. It is mainly used by businessmen, students and office goers across the globe.
Sometimes visibility can be a huge problem especially during heavy rain. In order to cater that problem, the transparent bubble umbrellas were invented. These umbrellas allow the person to see through the umbrella while walking in heavy traffic or the park. With time, the specially designed high wind umbrellas entered the scene that are currently being manufactured by companies such as Ebrain and so on. These umbrellas can withstand the pressure of heavy storms and rains. These are a combination of thick steel and custom made parachute with high resistance power allowing the user to easily cut through bad weather.
These days people of all ages are seen using umbrellas of different kinds to protect themselves from sun and rain. Umbrellas are among the very few products that do not have a substitute invention. There are caps and rain coats available in the market but nothing beats a good old umbrella especially during unfavorable weather conditions.
