The U.K. parliament will be opening later than expected, and one of the culprits for the delay appears to be the British practice of printing official documents on goatskin. Any new session of parliament must be opened with a speech from the British monarch laying out the government’s agenda. With the ink on Queen Elizabeth’s goatskin speech taking up to three days to dry, however, a draft will not be ready in time for the anticipated June 19 opening of parliament. The Conservatives already had a goatskin speech prepared in the event they obtained a majority government. The practice of printing documents on vellum in the 21st century isn’t quite as batty as it sounds.

Source: National Post June 12, 2017 19:51 UTC