Cool History Facts...
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From: Wheeler Army Airfield, HI
Cool History Facts...
Subject: History facts
>
> 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 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
> saying a "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 ! ! ! ! !
> Educate someone...Share these facts with a friend...
>
> 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 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
> saying a "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 ! ! ! ! !
> Educate someone...Share these facts with a friend...
