We have all heard or used the phrase "red tape", usually associated with bureaucracy.

I recently watched a show that visit the factory that produced red tape. Here is the background that I found interesting.

Lexicographers seem to agree that the term red tape derives from the ribbon once used to tie up legal documents in England. Because the common law gives great weight to precedent, every judicial decision must have been preceded by a thorough search of the records for guidance and authority.