Many things including the yearly bath

Posted by Bruce Kahl on August 06, 2003

In Reply to: Many things including the yearly bath posted by Lotg on August 06, 2003

: A friend emailed all the following to me. I have no idea where she got the information, and cannot vouch for the accuracy. But I'd be curious to know if anyone else can vouch for their accuracy.

: * * * * * *
: 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 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 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 their 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 term: "thresh hold."

: * * * * * *

: 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 the 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
: and
: 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 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
: 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 that History was boring !!!!!

Ever see your dog sleep on your roof?
Think about it. Think about all these "origins".
Most are pure poppycock!
Junkarama and crapola.

• Many things including the yearly bath ESC 06/August/03
  • Many things including the yearly bath Lotg 06/August/03