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Subject: [CRF] A little bit of education for you
Date: Mon, 2 Jun 2003 19:23:16 EDT

Thank You CarL.

Neal

Subject: A little bit of education for you
 

   How some of our sayings came to be.......educational


     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 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

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