LIFE IN THE 1500'S
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 the1500s:
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 =
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 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 =
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."
(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 "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 that History was boring =
! ! !
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 the1500s:
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 =
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 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 =
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."
(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 "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 that History was boring =
! ! !
