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.. Where did they come from?
>
>
>
> 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:
>
> They used to use urine to tan animal skins, so families used to
> all pee in a pot & then once a day it was taken & sold to the
> tannery.........if you had to do this to survive you were "#### Poor".
>
> But worse than that were the really poor folk who couldnt even
> afford to buy a pot.......they "didn't have a pot to #### in" & were the
> lowest of the low.
>
>
>
>
>
> Most people got married in June because they took their yearly bath
> in
> May, and they still smelled pretty good by June.. However, since they were
> starting to smell .. .. . 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 an d 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: 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 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
> 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 ! ! !
>
>
>
> So... get out there and 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:
>
> They used to use urine to tan animal skins, so families used to
> all pee in a pot & then once a day it was taken & sold to the
> tannery.........if you had to do this to survive you were "#### Poor".
>
> But worse than that were the really poor folk who couldnt even
> afford to buy a pot.......they "didn't have a pot to #### in" & were the
> lowest of the low.
>
>
>
>
>
> Most people got married in June because they took their yearly bath
> in
> May, and they still smelled pretty good by June.. However, since they were
> starting to smell .. .. . 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 an d 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: 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 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
> 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 ! ! !
>
>
>
> So... get out there and educate someone! ~~~ Share these facts with a
> friend