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In the spirit of KR's useless trivia, I thought I would share this useless information with you.
The next time you are washing your hands andcomplain because the water
> temperature isn't just how you like it, think abouthow things used to be.
> Here are some facts about the1500s:
>
> 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 hotwater. 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 getwarm, 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 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 allsit 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 theywould 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 inthe 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 ! ! ! :rocker:
The next time you are washing your hands andcomplain because the water
> temperature isn't just how you like it, think abouthow things used to be.
> Here are some facts about the1500s:
>
> 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 hotwater. 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 getwarm, 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 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 allsit 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 theywould 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 inthe 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 ! ! ! :rocker:
I am so glad I wasn't drinking anything or it woulda ended up all over my computer.
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