Mummy paper

I saw this random fact on one of those truth or fiction shows on TLC. It was too gross not to share. In the mid 1800's cotton & linen were scarce. This was the source to make paper. I'm quoting wikipedia on this:

In 1855, Dr. Isaiah Deck, a New York scientist, wrote a paper proposing a new source of rags. He believed that the wrappings of Egyptian mummies could provide an almost inexhaustible source of high quality linen at a reasonable rate

At least two paper mills actually did this. The brown paper was then used by grocers. TLC said this continue until the cholera broke out. For some reason this makes me want to go clean my entire house & replace everything in the kitchen, or maybe that's just an excuse to shop for a cookware set. It's hard to believe that mummies were easier to obtain than paper, but I guess this one is true.