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pieter_k

Fascinating insight into old expressions...

These are pretty neat explanations for things we either say or take for granted... now you will know the "Rest of the Story..."

LIFE IN THE 1500'S -- Interesting!

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 interesting 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 odour. 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 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 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 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 re-opening 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 ! ! ! Educate someone... Share these facts with a friend!

Comments (7)

  • esther_opal
    15 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    TKS, love these types of information!

  • hosta_freak
    15 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Pietertje,I actually knew some of the expressions,before. I do remember,in my lifetime,before we even had telephones,or indoor plumbing,that we would use our backyard pump to fill a large galvanized tub of water,so we could take a bath on Saturday. I would sit,with my legs scrunched up inside the tub,and take a bath. We also had a huge cast iron stove,fed by wood,or coal,to cook and bake. I'm only 70 years old,but those were the days! (Not really!) just a few thoughts. Phil

  • hostasformez4
    15 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Interesting information. Me too Phil! I grew up like you, no indoor plumbing and it was the norn in our rural area. Only 'townies' had indoor plumbing in the 50's early 60's The farmers had running water to the barns,with windmills and electric pumping, but homes didn't get it till later. We all had electric and old wall crank telephones with telephone operators for other than our party lines. Those were the good old days?!? In a way they were. We had to find ways to entertain ourselves as kids. Nature was our haunt with trips to the woods, making forts, making boats to float down the bigger creek. Catching tadpols in the spring at the swanp, fishing and raising wild animals. Mink, raccoon, hawks, fox, pegions and groundhogs were a few my brothers and I raised.

    my sons never got to do the things I did as a child. For one thing we lived in town as they grew and didn't have access to the area I grew up in. I did take them there many times berry picking and hicking but we never got to spend the time I did.

    My family hunted and so did I but we don't even own a gun at our house. That's what happens when you marry a 'townie'!

    Connie

  • Pieter zone 7/8 B.C.
    Original Author
    15 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Guess I'd better pipe up and show my own age... I grew up in a small town in Holland. When we first got our telephone the central was quite literally across the street and we had a TWO DIGIT local phone number!!!! But, we had indoor plumbing :-)

  • greenthumbz4mn
    15 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Pietertje, I loved your thread. And all the other posts brot back many memories. In our home we took our Sat. nite baths according to the cleanest. I was the third girl in line--which wasn't too bad, and then the two boys had their turns. The adults started over with fresh water. I also remember emptying the tub with two kids using the handles on each side and trying not to slosh all over the floor! I also recognized all those sayings, and it was interesting to hear how they originated. Mary

  • jel48
    15 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I loved this one too, Pieterje! Like some others, I remember the days of no indoor plumbing! We set up a galvanized tub in the kitchen or living room and that's where we took our baths. We did have running water, so washed our hair in the kitchen sinks every week. I don't recall whether we reused bath water or not. Maybe not, because I DO recall that we only used a couple of inches of water in the bottom of the tub! Sometimes, we would take 'basin' baths using a washpan and a washcloth without actually 'getting in' to a tub.

    We also had the old party line telephone. I think our digits were 2 or 3 numbers long though.

  • lindac
    15 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Great stories, good for a giggle, but I sure hope you all realize that that's what they are...a joke. Not a one of them true.
    Linda C

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