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:
These are interesting.
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 waist high bouquet of flowers to
Hide the body odor. (Once, maybe twice a year MAX in May, eh?) 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 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.
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 the upper crust.
Lead cups we re used to drink ale or whisky.
The combination would sometimes
Knock the imbibers 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.
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 were 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 History was boring?
Educate someone. Share these facts with a friend
