History 101
History 101
> > > >
> > > >Next time you wash your hands and complain that the water
> > > >temperature isn't just the way you like it, think about the
> > > >way things used to be...real, honest to goodness 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.
> > > >
> > > >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, 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. This would make 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 a 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.
> > > >
> > > >Most people did not have pewter plates, but did have trenchers.
> > > >They are a piece of wood, with the middle scooped out, to form
> > > >a bowl. However, trenchers were often made from stale bread,
> > > >which was so old and so hard, they could be used for quite
> > > >some time. These trenchers were never washed and a lot of times
> > > >worms and mold got into the wood and old bread. And after
> > > >eating off these wormy, moldy, trenchers, people would get
> > > >"trench mouth."
> > > >
> > > >Bread was divided according to status. Workers got the burnt
> > > >bottom of the loaf, the family got the middle, and guests got
> > > >the top, which was called the "upper crust."
> > > >
> > > >Lead cups were used to drink ale or whiskey. 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. Then someone
> > > >would sit in the graveyard, all night long (on the graveyard
> > > >shift") and listen for the bell. Thus, the expression, he or
> > > >she was "saved by the bell" or considered a "dead ringer."
> > > >
> > > >And that's the truth...whoever said, "History was boring?"