Interesting facts about the 1500's
1. 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.
2. 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."
3. 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."
4. 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.
5. The floor was dirt. Only the wealthy had something other than dirt. Hence the saying
"dirt poor."
6. 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."
7. 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."
8. 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".
9. 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.
10. 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".
11. 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."
12. 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
1. 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.
2. 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."
3. 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."
4. 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.
5. The floor was dirt. Only the wealthy had something other than dirt. Hence the saying
"dirt poor."
6. 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."
7. 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."
8. 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".
9. 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.
10. 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".
11. 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."
12. 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
