Terrazzo

Ter­razzo was orig­i­nally invented by Venet­ian con­struc­tion work­ers as a low cost floor­ing mate­r­ial using mar­ble chips from upscale jobs. The work­ers would usu­ally set them in clay to sur­face the patios around their liv­ing quar­ters. Con­sist­ing orig­i­nally of mar­ble chips, clay, and goat milk (as the sealer), pro­duc­tion of ter­razzo became much eas­ier after the 1920s and the intro­duc­tion of elec­tric indus­trial grinders and other power equip­ment.