I was just reading in our local Sunday paper about efforts on the part of Australian company Highland Partnership to create a bale of the world's finest. The sheep who were responsible for growing the wool were handpicked from the Snowy Mt region of New South Wales. The sheep were then exposed to a pampered life that included opera and a special sheep nutritionist, resulting in a bale of wool consisting of fibers nearly one half the thickness of the wool fibers shorn from the average Australian sheep.

According to the article, the bale was purchased by Italian designer Loro Piana for a price 345 times the going rate for wool. Piana plans to create 50 men's suits that will retail for more than $11,000 USD apiece.

Mychael