A client (thanks, Kerene) sent this to me...if you've never read it, check it out.
SUBJECT: 1500'S & Something to learn.
- 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 1500's - 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 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 entrance
way. Hence the saying a thresh hold. - 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 were used to drink ale or whiskey. 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.
Whoever said History was boring ! ! !
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Very entertaining! I enjoy storytelling, and there are some fun ones here. I think the one about sharing the bathwater was still used in my family, growing up in chicago with 10 kids! (We never had enough hot water for separate baths, so 2 or 3 at a time!
Kat,
Funny stuff!!! Thanks, Fran
Good stuff. I find that very interesting.
Just this evening my 9 year old son asked me why sitting in the front passenger seat is called "riding shotgun"
Mara: OMG, 10 kids. I don't blame your folks for sharing the bath water. LOL
Fran: I was raised by my grandparents, and my Grandmother was always saying stuff like these.
Tim: See... the sayings we use today, are most likely OLD. Thanks for stopping by.
Hi Kat!
Thanks for the fun read and a giggle or two!
Paula: You're welcome... we need to think of something other than R.E once in a while.
That was very interesting and entertaining-- thanks for sharing it with us all.
Bob & Carolin: You're welcome! Have a teriific weekend!