"Ian Iveson" wrote

Columbus set off with a Chinese map of the world, including America in its
proper location, drawn up before the Chinese fleet was recalled because of
a long period of war. As with the UK, that fleet was made from pretty much
all the trees they had, which was a lot of trees.

So where does this little bit of bogus "history" come from?


The Chinese are generally well educated and just as clever as other
humans, so they aren't short of scientific and engineering knowledge.

Exactly.

Economically, it seems probable that the plants had become "cash cows"
before they went to China, and have remained so since.

Indeed, would valve quality have been any better had the production
equipment stayed in Europe or the US? Both continents make some pretty
shoddy products as well as some superb ones.

David.