nuttynikki
Well-Known Member
The next time you are washing your hands and complain because the
water temperature isn't just how you like it, think about how things
used
to be.
Here are some facts about the 1500s:
Most people got married in June because they took their yearly bath
in May, and still smelled pretty good by June. However, they were
starting
to smell, so brides carried a bouquet of flowers to hide the body
odour.
Hence
the custom today of carrying a bouquet when getting married.
Baths consisted of a big tub filled with hot water. The man of the
house had the privilege of the nice clean water, then all the other
sons and
men, then the women and finally the children. Last of all the babies.
By
then the
water was so dirty you could actually lose someone in it. Hence the
saying,
"Don't throw the baby out with the bath water."
Houses had thatched roofs---thick straw-piled high, with no wood
underneath.
It was the only place for animals to get warm, so all the cats and
other
small animals (mice, bugs) lived in the roof. When it rained it became
slippery and sometimes the animals would slip and fall off the roof..
Hence the saying "It's raining cats and dogs."
There was nothing to stop things from falling into the house. This
posed a
real problem in the bedroom where bugs and other droppings could mess
up your nice clean bed. Hence, a bed with big posts and a sheet hung
over the top afforded some protection. That's how canopy beds came into
existence.
The floor was dirt. Only the wealthy had something other than dirt.
Hence the saying "dirt poor."
The wealthy had slate floors that would get slippery in the winter
when
wet,
so they spread thresh (straw) on the floor to help keep their footing.
As the winter wore on, they added more thresh until when you opened the
door it would all start slipping outside. A piece of wood was placed in
the
entranceway. Hence the saying a "thresh hold."
(Getting quite an education, aren't you?)
In those old days, they cooked in the kitchen with a big kettle that
always
hung over the fire. Every day they lit the fire and added things to the
pot.
They ate mostly vegetables and did not get much meat. They would eat
the stew for dinner, leaving leftovers in the pot to get cold overnight
and then start over the next day. Sometimes stew had food in it that
had
been
there for quite a while. Hence the rhyme, "Peas porridge hot, peas
porridge
cold, peas porridge in the pot nine days old."
Sometimes they could obtain pork, which made them feel quite special.
When visitors came over, they would hang up their bacon to show off. It
was a sign of wealth that a man could "bring home the bacon." They
would
cut off a little to share with guests and would all sit around and
"chew the
fat."
Those with money had plates made of pewter. Food with high acid
content
caused some of the lead to leach onto the food, causing lead poisoning
death. This happened most often with tomatoes, so for the next 400
years or
so, tomatoes were considered poisonous.
Lead cups were used to drink ale or whisky. The combination would
sometimes
knock the drinkers out for a couple of days. Someone walking along the
road
would take them for dead and prepare them for burial. They were laid
out on
the kitchen table for a couple of days and the family would gather
around
and eat and drink and wait and see if they would wake up. Hence the
custom
of holding a "wake."
Bread was divided according to status. Workers got the burnt bottom of
the
loaf, the family got the middle, and guests got the top, or "upper
crust."
England is old and small and the local folks started running out of
places to bury people. So they would dig up coffins and would take the
bones to a "bone-house" and reuse the grave. When reopening these
coffins, 1
out of 25 coffins was found to have scratch marks on the inside and
they
realized they had been burying people alive. So they would tie a string
on
the
wrist of the corpse, lead it through the coffin and up through the
ground
and
tie it to a bell. Someone would have to sit out in the graveyard all
night
(the "graveyard shift") to listen for the bell; thus, someone could be
"saved by the bell" or was considered a "dead ringer."
And that's the truth... Now, whoever said that History was boring!!!
water temperature isn't just how you like it, think about how things
used
to be.
Here are some facts about the 1500s:
Most people got married in June because they took their yearly bath
in May, and still smelled pretty good by June. However, they were
starting
to smell, so brides carried a bouquet of flowers to hide the body
odour.
Hence
the custom today of carrying a bouquet when getting married.
Baths consisted of a big tub filled with hot water. The man of the
house had the privilege of the nice clean water, then all the other
sons and
men, then the women and finally the children. Last of all the babies.
By
then the
water was so dirty you could actually lose someone in it. Hence the
saying,
"Don't throw the baby out with the bath water."
Houses had thatched roofs---thick straw-piled high, with no wood
underneath.
It was the only place for animals to get warm, so all the cats and
other
small animals (mice, bugs) lived in the roof. When it rained it became
slippery and sometimes the animals would slip and fall off the roof..
Hence the saying "It's raining cats and dogs."
There was nothing to stop things from falling into the house. This
posed a
real problem in the bedroom where bugs and other droppings could mess
up your nice clean bed. Hence, a bed with big posts and a sheet hung
over the top afforded some protection. That's how canopy beds came into
existence.
The floor was dirt. Only the wealthy had something other than dirt.
Hence the saying "dirt poor."
The wealthy had slate floors that would get slippery in the winter
when
wet,
so they spread thresh (straw) on the floor to help keep their footing.
As the winter wore on, they added more thresh until when you opened the
door it would all start slipping outside. A piece of wood was placed in
the
entranceway. Hence the saying a "thresh hold."
(Getting quite an education, aren't you?)
In those old days, they cooked in the kitchen with a big kettle that
always
hung over the fire. Every day they lit the fire and added things to the
pot.
They ate mostly vegetables and did not get much meat. They would eat
the stew for dinner, leaving leftovers in the pot to get cold overnight
and then start over the next day. Sometimes stew had food in it that
had
been
there for quite a while. Hence the rhyme, "Peas porridge hot, peas
porridge
cold, peas porridge in the pot nine days old."
Sometimes they could obtain pork, which made them feel quite special.
When visitors came over, they would hang up their bacon to show off. It
was a sign of wealth that a man could "bring home the bacon." They
would
cut off a little to share with guests and would all sit around and
"chew the
fat."
Those with money had plates made of pewter. Food with high acid
content
caused some of the lead to leach onto the food, causing lead poisoning
death. This happened most often with tomatoes, so for the next 400
years or
so, tomatoes were considered poisonous.
Lead cups were used to drink ale or whisky. The combination would
sometimes
knock the drinkers out for a couple of days. Someone walking along the
road
would take them for dead and prepare them for burial. They were laid
out on
the kitchen table for a couple of days and the family would gather
around
and eat and drink and wait and see if they would wake up. Hence the
custom
of holding a "wake."
Bread was divided according to status. Workers got the burnt bottom of
the
loaf, the family got the middle, and guests got the top, or "upper
crust."
England is old and small and the local folks started running out of
places to bury people. So they would dig up coffins and would take the
bones to a "bone-house" and reuse the grave. When reopening these
coffins, 1
out of 25 coffins was found to have scratch marks on the inside and
they
realized they had been burying people alive. So they would tie a string
on
the
wrist of the corpse, lead it through the coffin and up through the
ground
and
tie it to a bell. Someone would have to sit out in the graveyard all
night
(the "graveyard shift") to listen for the bell; thus, someone could be
"saved by the bell" or was considered a "dead ringer."
And that's the truth... Now, whoever said that History was boring!!!
:biggrin:
