Cindy Bolley   HHCTB?
> 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:

> These are interesting...

> 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 o f 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 entrance way. 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 whiskey. 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
Jul 1st 2007 05:06