A LITTLE HISTORY LESSON

Someone forwarded me this--I found it fascinating! And came twice!


> > > >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
> > > 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 slippi ng 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 ! ! !