To the person sending this e-mail out.
Feb. 25th, 2009 08:43 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
allison_isYou can DIAF too.
Life in the 1500s
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 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 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 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 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 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
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 ! ! !
Educate someone. Share these facts with a friend.
SNOPES IS YOUR FRIEND OH MY GOD.
Life in the 1500s
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 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 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 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 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 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
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 ! ! !
Educate someone. Share these facts with a friend.
SNOPES IS YOUR FRIEND OH MY GOD.
