Thought For the Day
by Mike Winstead
Interesting Facts "really"
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:
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 dogs, 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 really 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 the floor
to help keep heir footing. As the winter wore on, they kept
adding 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."
* * * * * *
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 and death. This happened most often with tomatoes,
so for the next 400 years or so, tomatoes were considered
poisonous.
> * * * * * *
Lead cups
were used to drink ale or whisky. The combination would
sometimes knock them 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 thought they would
tie a string on the wrist of the corpse, lead it through the
coffin and up hrough 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. |
