Subject: Fw: History Lesson!!!
>>>According to The History Channel, during the Victorian age, people
>>>would only change a baby's diaper every four days. Whew whee!
>>>
>>>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 1500s: 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
>>>beginning 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 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 the slate floors
that
>>>would get slippery. They put threshing 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 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
a
>>>stew had the 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
about
>>>the next 400 years, 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 whiskey. 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 to see if
they
> woke 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, about 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 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.
>>>
2006-09-20
07:38:24
·
16 answers
·
asked by
Anonymous
in
Jokes & Riddles