"According to local lore, a " workman named Roper" in rural England built a " rude and imperfect" prototype of a machine that could make ribbed stockings. Then a local farmer, who wanted to get into the stocking game, sold a horse for £5 and used the money to buy the rights to the machine from Roper. The farmer died a rich man; no sources tell us how Roper felt about the deal."

Money

The True Story of a Made Up Thing