History of "Old Sayings"

[border man]

Here are some 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 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 is 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."
>
>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 ! ! !

[Steve2003]

very interesting I'm sure glad I'm living in the 21'st century!

[kermit]

neat stuff