A History Lesson

[peter026]

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 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 were 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.

>

> (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.

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>

> 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.

>

> And that's the truth...Now, whoever said History was boring ! ! !

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> Educate someone. Share these facts with a friend

>

>

[graham8370]

Very interesting Peter. Most things we do or say nowadays have their origins in the distant past. There's always a reason, and always enlightening.

[Bazza]

fascinating :D

[Anees]

Yes...very interesting (and disgusting!) :)

[Sagitar]

I'm afraid many of them are pure cobblers.

For example, a wake is a vigil observed (usually) on a religious occasion. It gets its name because those observing the vigil remain awake i.e. vigilant.

The vigil kept on the night before a burial is thus called a wake, but it has nothing to do with the state of the deceased.

June weddings go back to Roman times and they bathed very regularly. June is named for Juno who was the Roman patron goddess of marriage so it was good to get married in her month.

I could go on.

The web is a mine of misinformation . . . . .

[Rikos]

Although they may not all be true i'm sure there are links to the truth and all being said it's an interesting read and just got rid of 5 minutes of work for me :D