# What man-made objects are referred to by the material they are made of? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 5, 2005, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-man-made-objects-are-referred-to-by-the-material-they-are-made-of/297881 "2005-04-05T18:25:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2005, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-man-made-objects-are-referred-to-by-the-material-they-are-made-of/297881/81 "2005-04-12T14:23:25Z")
**"Pulps."** (Refers to periodicals printed on cheap pulp paper, as in “Pulp Fiction.”) Speaking of **paper** , didn’t that word itself come from **papyrus**? Another case of the material-based name sticking around even after the material changes. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2005, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-man-made-objects-are-referred-to-by-the-material-they-are-made-of/297881/82 "2005-04-12T14:25:36Z")
Also, **newspaper**. ---
**Author:** ![Zabali\_Clawbane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/ecd19e/32.png) [@Zabali\_Clawbane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zabali_Clawbane)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2005, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-man-made-objects-are-referred-to-by-the-material-they-are-made-of/297881/83 "2005-04-12T20:10:04Z")
> [@acsenray](#): > > In the U.S., where we say “cotton balls,” I don’t think it counts, but in the U.K., where it is simply called “cotton,” I think that counts. I would think, that it should slip in. A cotton boll is in it’s natural state, the ball has no seeds/seedpods in it and has been “made” into it’s state by man. (Even bleached IIRC.) Surely you’d concede that since the OP contained “glass” as in drinking vessel, which is made of glass, that cotton ball should be allowed? ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2005, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-man-made-objects-are-referred-to-by-the-material-they-are-made-of/297881/84 "2005-04-12T21:55:50Z")
A theater stage is referred to as **"the boards."** ---
**Author:** ![chaoticbear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f07891/32.png) [@chaoticbear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chaoticbear)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2005, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-man-made-objects-are-referred-to-by-the-material-they-are-made-of/297881/85 "2005-04-12T22:02:20Z")
> [@Little Nemo](#): > > Linoleum is made from linseed oil. You’re kidding. Wow. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2005, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-man-made-objects-are-referred-to-by-the-material-they-are-made-of/297881/86 "2005-04-12T22:22:07Z")
How about a **soda**? Or a **malt**? ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2005, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-man-made-objects-are-referred-to-by-the-material-they-are-made-of/297881/87 "2005-04-13T14:16:53Z")
> [@Zabali\_Clawbane](#): > > I would think, that it should slip in. A cotton boll is in it’s natural state, the ball has no seeds/seedpods in it and has been “made” into it’s state by man. (Even bleached IIRC.) Surely you’d concede that since the OP contained “glass” as in drinking vessel, which is made of glass, that cotton ball should be allowed? No, I don’t agree. It’s a ball made from cotton so it’s a cotton ball. There’s no transfer of the name of the material to the object. “Cotton” is still acting as a descriptor, not as the name of the object itself. Just as “woollen pullover” doesn’t count, but “woollens” does. ---
**Author:** ![JohnBckWLD](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d6d6ee/32.png) [@JohnBckWLD](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnBckWLD)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2005, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-man-made-objects-are-referred-to-by-the-material-they-are-made-of/297881/88 "2005-04-13T18:53:15Z")
> [@spoke-](#): > > A theater stage is referred to as **"the boards."** Circuit Boards are made of circuits - placed on a ‘board’ ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2005, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-man-made-objects-are-referred-to-by-the-material-they-are-made-of/297881/89 "2005-04-13T19:11:16Z")
Are laces (as in shoelaces) so-called because they were originally lace items? ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2005, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-man-made-objects-are-referred-to-by-the-material-they-are-made-of/297881/90 "2005-04-13T19:18:44Z")
And has anyone mentioned **linens**? ---
**Author:** ![Zabali\_Clawbane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/ecd19e/32.png) [@Zabali\_Clawbane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zabali_Clawbane)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2005, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-man-made-objects-are-referred-to-by-the-material-they-are-made-of/297881/91 "2005-04-13T20:12:44Z")
Ok, then cotton balls is out. What about beeswax? Either as a [furniture polish](http://beepolish.com/), or [moustache pomade](http://www.adiscountbeauty.com/page149.html). (It’s used for surfboards, skateboards, and cars too.) Does that fit the criteria? ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2005, 5:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-man-made-objects-are-referred-to-by-the-material-they-are-made-of/297881/92 "2005-04-14T05:26:31Z")
> [@spoke-](#): > > Are laces (as in shoelaces) so-called because they were originally lace items? I don’t think so, because “lace” doesn’t describe the material, it describes how the material is arranged. Lace could be made out of any sort of fiber, right? So lace isn’t a raw material. Linens were already mentioned. I don’t think beeswax counts, because it is just the material itself, not an object made of the material. ---
**Author:** ![hlanelee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3bc359/32.png) [@hlanelee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hlanelee)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2005, 9:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-man-made-objects-are-referred-to-by-the-material-they-are-made-of/297881/93 "2005-04-14T09:45:14Z")
Just in case everyone didn’t know, **mothballs** are not testicles. 😃😃😃 ---
**Author:** ![chaoticbear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f07891/32.png) [@chaoticbear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chaoticbear)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2005, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-man-made-objects-are-referred-to-by-the-material-they-are-made-of/297881/94 "2005-04-14T12:30:14Z")
> [@hlanelee](#): > > Just in case everyone didn’t know, **mothballs** are not testicles. 😃😃😃 No, but they are (traditionally, not sure about always) napthalene. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-man-made-objects-are-referred-to-by-the-material-they-are-made-of/297881.md?page=4)