There's no such thing as a fake feather [video]

I think it's a shame more real leather isn't used. It just goes to waste, but fake leather is cheaper.

Things that can't be faked are going to be a mystery, reversing a phenomenon of just a few decades ago, when faking a thing perfectly was a miracle.

Indeed. Also very nearly always true with "fake" skeleton leaves used for crafting.

A small percentage (usually enlarged designs of particular shapes) are made with sophisticated latex presses, but most are chemically-stripped and treated real leaves (Ficus and suchlike) because it's simply easier to make them in bulk.

I was amazed by this at first — I bought some for a photography project simply assuming that their flexible, slightly springy nature meant they were artifically-made latex. But no: ficus leaves automatically processed in baking soda, essentially. The latex ones aren't even cheaper.

Given the incredible number of chickens that are processed every single minute across the world, this shouldn't be surprising but it's easy to see why you might be surprised if you never considered where all the stuff that isn't meat goes.

[flagged]