Claude check this out to put a smile on your face:
>> > > > According to The History Channel, during the
>> > > > Victorian age, people would only change a baby's
>> > > > diaper every four days. Whew whee!
>> > > >
>> > > > 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: These are
>> > > > interesting...
>> > > >
>> > > > Most people got married in June because they took
>> > > > their yearly bath in May, and still smelled pretty good
>> > > > by June. However, they were beginning 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 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 the 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 added 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."
>> > > >
>> > > > (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 a stew had the 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 about
>> > > > the next 400 years, 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 whiskey. 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 to see if they woke 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, about 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 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." |
