Cow horn was used for spoons and combs, as well as lantern “glass”, and to cover hornbooks. It is flexible when heated, but if it is warmed too fast, it turns green. Heating it was a job often given to the apprentice, who often got it too hot, hence the moniker “green horn” for the new kid on the block.
Cow horn was used for spoons and combs, as well as lantern “glass”, and to cover hornbooks. It is flexible when heated, but if it is warmed too fast, it turns green. Heating it was a job often given to the apprentice, who often got it too hot, hence the moniker “green horn” for the new kid on the block.