Where were umbrellas invented?
Umbrellas were invented in China about 11 BC. For a long time they were used to shade people from the sun instead of to keep off the rain. In Europe in the 1700s, only women used umbrellas as a way of staying dry. Then Jonas Hanway, who was English, started to use an umbrella. At first, men laughed at him, but gradually the habit of using an umbrella became popular with men.
