India gave the world Khaki

A walnut wood box from Kashmir, India, with the crest of the world's first regiment

to wear khaki.

Most people don't realise it, but the Hindi (and Urdu) word for dust and dirt is 'khak'.

The fierce tribesmen of the dry, drab, dusty terrain of India's Northwest Frontier, wore clothes that blended into their surroundings. Their 'khakis' hid them and protected them. It didn't take long for the officers of the British Indian Army to realise that wearing khaki made sense. And Queen Victoria's Own Corps Of Guides of the Indian Army became the world's first regiment to fight back in khaki uniforms.