ON CULTURE:
Pointless
Innovation:
Murex Dyes
WORDS BY
Oliver Long
The toga picta is a status
symbol unlike any other, with
its grandiose purple shade and
beautiful patterns.
Unfortunately, however, these
turn out to be extremely
expensive, worn only by the
extremely elite, for one simple
reason.
Where most dyes are
extracted from common herbs
and berries, the ostrum dyes
used to create the toga picta
must be extracted from one
particular species of
somewhat-rare predatory sea
snail of the family Murex.
Thousands of these snails—and
huge amounts of labor—go into
THE TORCH | 6
producing enough dye to
produce one toga.
This problem is, however,
being solved. The Wheeler JCL
has insider information that
effort may be made to
genetically modify and raise
vast quantities of these snails in
captivity, grind them into dye,
and market the Toga picta for a
fraction of its original price,
allowing even the common
man to parade through the
streets in elite garb.