frodar
11-16-2004, 11:50 PM
>
>
>
> 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 odor. 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 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 adding 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 "upper crust."
>
>
> Lead cups were 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 gr ound 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 ! ! ! Educate
> someone... Share these facts with a friend
>
>
>
> 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 odor. 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 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 adding 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 "upper crust."
>
>
> Lead cups were 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 gr ound 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 ! ! ! Educate
> someone... Share these facts with a friend
>