Forwarded to me by a friend. Take a break - ease up - relax more and cherish the "good old days".
Merle
People need to learn something new
every
day...Just to keep the grey matter tuned up.
Where did "Piss Poor" come from? Interesting
history.
They used to use urine to tan animal skins, so
families used to all pee in a pot and then once it
was full it was taken and sold to the tannery...
if you had to do this to survive you were "Piss
Poor".
But worse than that were the really poor folk who
couldn't even afford to buy a pot...
They "didn't have a pot to piss in" and were the
lowest of the low.
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 1500's
Most people got married in June because they took
their yearly bath in May, and they still smelled
pretty good by June. However, since they were
starting to smell, 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 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
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
entrance-way.
Hence: 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
the 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; "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 history was boring!!!
So get out there and educate someone!
Share these facts with a friend.
Inside every older person is a younger person
wondering,"What the heck happened?"
We'll be friends until we are old and senile. Then
we'll be new friends.
Smile, it gives your face something to do!
day...Just to keep the grey matter tuned up.
Where did "Piss Poor" come from? Interesting
history.
They used to use urine to tan animal skins, so
families used to all pee in a pot and then once it
was full it was taken and sold to the tannery...
if you had to do this to survive you were "Piss
Poor".
But worse than that were the really poor folk who
couldn't even afford to buy a pot...
They "didn't have a pot to piss in" and were the
lowest of the low.
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 1500's
Most people got married in June because they took
their yearly bath in May, and they still smelled
pretty good by June. However, since they were
starting to smell, 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 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
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
entrance-way.
Hence: 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
the 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; "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 history was boring!!!
So get out there and educate someone!
Share these facts with a friend.
Inside every older person is a younger person
wondering,"What the heck happened?"
We'll be friends until we are old and senile. Then
we'll be new friends.
Smile, it gives your face something to do!
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