To have not known bone china is made from actual bones?

[LiIo]

Genuinely just found this out tonight. I hope I don’t sound stupid but I’m genuinely surprised. I mean it makes sense given the name but still…!

😂

I knew this as despite not being vegan I do follow a vegan diet………’proper vegans’ (and anyone else who objects to my choices) are constantly telling me 🙄😂

😆😆😆

OP I had no idea!

As obvious as the name sounds I didn't know this either - yuk! I'm really been out off my favourite mugs now!!

I never realised this either, I don't know what I thought the bone bit in the name referred to but I didn't expect it to be actual bones.

But if we're going to use animals, we should use the whole of the animal so using the bones for nice tea cups is fine by me.

Another one who didn't know! I never thought about where the 'bone' came in.

Me too!!

Not suitable for vegans then I guess

I just checked my second hand tea set that sits in the vitrine looking fancy but never gets used - bone china. Doesn't look translucent to me though.

Fine if they don’t eat it.

Not fine actually

True vegans don’t drink from bone china cups, use feather pillows, wear wool etc etc

I'm surprised at the amount of people on this thread that don't know this!

I can remember covering this in history.

English porcelain was inferior until the mid-18th century when it was discovered that bone ash added strength to the porcelain. This discovery allowed England to become a leader in the manufacture of ceramics and the industry was based in Stoke-on-Trent (the potteries).

'Bone china' was exclusively English until the late 20th century.

There is bone ash in some ceramic glazes too, these are be used on any clay not just bone China. I'm not sure how common bone ash is in commercial pottery. I know many handmade potters don't use it.

If you look it up you'll see what a vast array of uses and materials are gleaned from animals. "Everything but the grunt" they used to say. It makes sense that if you're going to kill your pig, you utilise as much as possible from it. Our ancestors had to in order to maximise their chances of survival.

I knew about bone china containing bone ash as I read it in a book as a kid. Very informative, books.

^^ this

I knew, I can't ever remember not knowing it just seemed obvious (sorry)

I actively seek out bone china for mugs. I've realised that unconsciously all the mugs that I've favoured over the years have been bone china ones so as others break (a frequent occurrence on a farm where they also get used in all sorts of none cuppa related ways) they are replaced with bone china.

interestingly the farm mug stealers seem to understand not to take those ones outside and stick to the cheap supermarket ones.

I think it's a great way of using the whole animal and the fact that some people are shocked/Squeamish about this is testament to how far removed we have become as a society from nose to tail food production.

we should be actively seeking out products that encourage the use of every last scrap of an animal.

But bones are strong. That’s the point of them!

When we went to Gloucestershire they had 'cats eyes missing' roadsigns which freaked my son out leading him to ask mummy can't the cats here see?

I don’t use those things and definitely wouldn’t drink out of a bone china cup. If you eat animal products though, I don’t see why it’s so shocking that they use bones for stuff, probably the least squeamish thing really.

I’ve known this since I was a teenager but only because a vegan relative refused to eat off bone China and would rewash any fruit which had touched the China before eating it!

As bone china contains bone ash, are there companies that will make dinner sets out of loved one's ashes?! I mean, you can have ashes made into diamonds or put into fireworks 🤔...

Edit: just searched online... it seems you can! 😮😎😁
recyclenation.com/2010/10/bone-china-recycled-human-remains/

Radium, I think. Uranium would be too difficult for mass production.

OP, there's a surprising number of things that you would never think are animal derived. Pigments and solvents used in fine art are often of animal (and very unsavoury) origins.

You are OK with that.

There is a story that I don't think is true, of a US baby food manufacturer that tried to sell baby food in Africa (this is why I think it is untrue, you would start with one country not a huge continent) and people were used to the can having a picture of the food, and the information was in English but it didn't sell due to people thinking it was made of baby.

And then there's gelatin.