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When I attended a criminal investigation academy... | Almanac.com

When I attended a criminal investigation academy...

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When I attended a criminal investigation academy, the following question arose: If wool shrinks in water, why don’t sheep shrink when it rains, since they have a coat of wool?
Answer
Sheep don’t shrink because they manufacture lanolin, a greasy secretion from the sebaceous glands. The lanolin collects in the wool and prevents it from drying out and shrinking. Once the wool is sheared, it passes through several water rinses designed to remove the lanolin.