History lesson
Here are some facts about the1500s:<br /><br />Most people got married in June because they took their yearly bath<br />in May, and still smelled pretty good by June. However, they were starting<br />to smell, so brides<br />carried a bouquet of flowers to hide the body odor. Hence the custom today<br />of carrying a<br />bouquet when getting married.<br /><br />> >> Baths consisted of a big tub filled with hot water. The man of the<br />> >>house had the privilege of the<br />> >> nice clean water, then all the other sons and men, then the women <br />>and<br />> >>finally the children Last<br />> >> of all the babies. By then the water was so dirty you could actually<br />> >>lose someone in it. Hence<br />> >> the saying, "Don't throw the baby out with the bath water."<br />> >><br />> >> Houses had thatched roofs-thick straw-piled high, with no wood<br />> >>underneath. It was the only<br />> >> place for animals to get warm, so all the cats and other small<br />> >>animals (mice, bugs) lived in the<br />> >> roof. When it rained it became slippery and sometimes the animals<br />> >>would slip and off the roof.<br />> >> Hence the saying "It's raining cats and dogs."<br />> >><br />> >> There was nothing to stop things from falling into the house. This<br />> >>posed a real problem in the<br />> >> bedroom where bugs and other droppings could mess up your nice clean<br />> >>bed. Hence, a bed with<br />> >> big posts and a sheet hung over the top afforded some protection.<br />> >>That's how canopy beds<br />> >> came into existence.<br />> >><br />> >> The floor was dirt. Only the wealthy had something other than dirt.<br />> >>Hence the saying "dirt<br />> >> poor." The wealthy had slate floors that would get slippery in the<br />> >>winter when wet , so they<br />> >> spread thresh (straw) on floor to help keep their footing. As the<br />> >>winter wore on, they added<br />> >> more thresh until when you opened the door it would all start<br />> >>slipping outside. A piece of wood<br />> >> was placed in the entranceway. Hence the saying a "thresh hold."<br />> >><br />> >> (Getting quite an education, aren't you?)<br />> >><br />> >> In those old days, they cooked in the kitchen with a big kettle that<br />> >>always hung over the fire.<br />> >> Every day they lit the fire and added things to the pot. They ate<br />> >>mostly vegetables and did not<br />> >> get much meat. They would eat the stew for dinner, leaving leftovers<br />> >>in the pot to get cold<br />> >> overnight and then start over the next day. Sometimes stew had food<br />> >>in it that had been there<br />> >> for quite a while. Hence the rhyme, "Peas porridge hot, peas <br />>porridge<br />> >>cold, peas porridge in the<br />> >> pot nine days old."<br />> >><br />> >> Sometimes they could obtain pork, which made them feel quite <br />>special.<br />> >>When visitors came<br />> >> over, they would hang up their bacon to show off. It was a sign of<br />> >>wealth that a man could<br />> >> "bring home the bacon." They would cut off a little to share with<br />> >>guests and would all sit around<br />> >> and "chew the fat."<br />> >><br />> >> Those with money had plates made of pewter. Food with high acid<br />> >>content caused some of the<br />> >> lead to leach onto the food, causing lead poisoning death. This<br />> >>happened most often with<br />> >> tomatoes, so for the next 400 years or so, tomatoes were considered<br />> >>poisonous.<br />> >><br />> >> Bread was divided according to status. Workers got the burnt bottom<br />> >>of the loaf, the family got<br />> >> the middle, and guests got the top, or "upper crust."<br />> >><br />> >> Lead cups were used to drink ale or whisky. The combination would<br />> >>sometimes knock the<br />> >> imbibers out for a couple of days. Someone walking along the road<br />> >>would take them for dead<br />> >> and prepare them for burial. They were laid out on the kitchen table<br />> >>for a couple of days and the<br />> >> family would gather around and eat and drink and wait and see if <br />>they<br />> >>would wake up. Hence<br />> >> the custom of holding a "wake."<br />> >><br />> >> England is old and small and the local folks started running out of<br />> >>places to bury people. So they<br />> >> would dig up coffins and would take the bones to a "bone-house" and<br />> >>reuse the grave When<br />> >> reopening these coffins, 1 out of 25 coffins were found to have<br />> >>scratch marks on the inside and<br />> >> they realized they had been burying people alive. So they would tie <br />>a<br />> >>string on the wrist of the<br />> >> corpse, lead it through the coffin and up through the ground and tie<br />> >>it to a bell. Someone would<br />> >> have to sit out in the graveyard all night (the "graveyard shift") <br />>to<br />> >>listen for the bell; thus,<br />> >> someone could be "saved by the bell" or was considered a "dead<br />> >>ringer."<br />> >><br />> >> And that's the truth... Now , whoever said that History was boring !
Here are some facts about the1500s:<br /><br />Most people got married in June because they took their yearly bath<br />in May, and still smelled pretty good by June. However, they were starting<br />to smell, so brides<br />carried a bouquet of flowers to hide the body odor. Hence the custom today<br />of carrying a<br />bouquet when getting married.<br /><br />> >> Baths consisted of a big tub filled with hot water. The man of the<br />> >>house had the privilege of the<br />> >> nice clean water, then all the other sons and men, then the women <br />>and<br />> >>finally the children Last<br />> >> of all the babies. By then the water was so dirty you could actually<br />> >>lose someone in it. Hence<br />> >> the saying, "Don't throw the baby out with the bath water."<br />> >><br />> >> Houses had thatched roofs-thick straw-piled high, with no wood<br />> >>underneath. It was the only<br />> >> place for animals to get warm, so all the cats and other small<br />> >>animals (mice, bugs) lived in the<br />> >> roof. When it rained it became slippery and sometimes the animals<br />> >>would slip and off the roof.<br />> >> Hence the saying "It's raining cats and dogs."<br />> >><br />> >> There was nothing to stop things from falling into the house. This<br />> >>posed a real problem in the<br />> >> bedroom where bugs and other droppings could mess up your nice clean<br />> >>bed. Hence, a bed with<br />> >> big posts and a sheet hung over the top afforded some protection.<br />> >>That's how canopy beds<br />> >> came into existence.<br />> >><br />> >> The floor was dirt. Only the wealthy had something other than dirt.<br />> >>Hence the saying "dirt<br />> >> poor." The wealthy had slate floors that would get slippery in the<br />> >>winter when wet , so they<br />> >> spread thresh (straw) on floor to help keep their footing. As the<br />> >>winter wore on, they added<br />> >> more thresh until when you opened the door it would all start<br />> >>slipping outside. A piece of wood<br />> >> was placed in the entranceway. Hence the saying a "thresh hold."<br />> >><br />> >> (Getting quite an education, aren't you?)<br />> >><br />> >> In those old days, they cooked in the kitchen with a big kettle that<br />> >>always hung over the fire.<br />> >> Every day they lit the fire and added things to the pot. They ate<br />> >>mostly vegetables and did not<br />> >> get much meat. They would eat the stew for dinner, leaving leftovers<br />> >>in the pot to get cold<br />> >> overnight and then start over the next day. Sometimes stew had food<br />> >>in it that had been there<br />> >> for quite a while. Hence the rhyme, "Peas porridge hot, peas <br />>porridge<br />> >>cold, peas porridge in the<br />> >> pot nine days old."<br />> >><br />> >> Sometimes they could obtain pork, which made them feel quite <br />>special.<br />> >>When visitors came<br />> >> over, they would hang up their bacon to show off. It was a sign of<br />> >>wealth that a man could<br />> >> "bring home the bacon." They would cut off a little to share with<br />> >>guests and would all sit around<br />> >> and "chew the fat."<br />> >><br />> >> Those with money had plates made of pewter. Food with high acid<br />> >>content caused some of the<br />> >> lead to leach onto the food, causing lead poisoning death. This<br />> >>happened most often with<br />> >> tomatoes, so for the next 400 years or so, tomatoes were considered<br />> >>poisonous.<br />> >><br />> >> Bread was divided according to status. Workers got the burnt bottom<br />> >>of the loaf, the family got<br />> >> the middle, and guests got the top, or "upper crust."<br />> >><br />> >> Lead cups were used to drink ale or whisky. The combination would<br />> >>sometimes knock the<br />> >> imbibers out for a couple of days. Someone walking along the road<br />> >>would take them for dead<br />> >> and prepare them for burial. They were laid out on the kitchen table<br />> >>for a couple of days and the<br />> >> family would gather around and eat and drink and wait and see if <br />>they<br />> >>would wake up. Hence<br />> >> the custom of holding a "wake."<br />> >><br />> >> England is old and small and the local folks started running out of<br />> >>places to bury people. So they<br />> >> would dig up coffins and would take the bones to a "bone-house" and<br />> >>reuse the grave When<br />> >> reopening these coffins, 1 out of 25 coffins were found to have<br />> >>scratch marks on the inside and<br />> >> they realized they had been burying people alive. So they would tie <br />>a<br />> >>string on the wrist of the<br />> >> corpse, lead it through the coffin and up through the ground and tie<br />> >>it to a bell. Someone would<br />> >> have to sit out in the graveyard all night (the "graveyard shift") <br />>to<br />> >>listen for the bell; thus,<br />> >> someone could be "saved by the bell" or was considered a "dead<br />> >>ringer."<br />> >><br />> >> And that's the truth... Now , whoever said that History was boring !
