It's amazing that we survived as a species..... >Life in the 1500's > > > > Dennis Reardon sends some good information regarding the origination > > of some of our old sayings. > > > > Most people got married in June because they took their yearly bath > > in May and were still smelling pretty good by June. However, they >were > > starting to smell, so brides carried a bouquet of flowers to hide the >b.o. > > > > Baths equaled 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 > > pets ...dogs, cats and other small animals, mice, rats, 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. So, they > > found if they made beds with big posts and hung a sheet over the top, > > it addressed that problem. Hence those beautiful big four poster beds > > with canopies. > > > > The floor was dirt. Only the wealthy had something other than dirt, > > hence the saying "dirt poor." The wealthy had slate floors which >would > > get slippery in the winter when wet. So they spread thresh 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 at the entry way, hence a "thresh hold." > > > > They cooked in the kitchen in a big kettle that always hung over the > > fire. Every day they lit the fire and added things to the pot. They > > mostly ate vegetables and didn't 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 in there for a month. Hence the rhyme: peas porridge hot, > > peas porridge cold, peas porridge in the pot nine days old." Some- > > times they could obtain pork and would feel really special when that > > happened. When company came over, they would bring out some > > bacon and hang it to show it off. It was a sign of wealth and that a > > man "could really 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. This happened > > most often with tomatoes, so they stopped eating tomatoes ... for 400 > > years. Most people didn't have pewter plates, but had trenchers - a > > piece of wood with the middle scooped out like a bowl. Trenchers were > >never > > washed and a lot of times worms got into the wood. After eating off > > wormy trenchers, they 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, or 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 they started running out of places to > > bury people. So, they would dig up coffins and would take their bones > > to a house and reuse the grave. In reopening these coffins, one 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 their wrists and 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 to listen for the bell. Hence on the > > "graveyard shift" they would know that someone was "saved by the > > bell" or he was a "dead ringer." > > > _______________________________________________________________ Get Free Email and Do More On The Web. Visit http://www.msn.com
