You think times are hard now !

[GIXXERUK]

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know this looks like alot of writing, but take the time

> > to read it..... its actually quite an education!!!!!

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> > LIFE IN THE 1500'S Interesting! The next time you are

> > taking a shower 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 life in the 1500's:

> > 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 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 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 ! ! ! Educate someone.

[Stew]

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.

 

 

I'm a bit worried about this. Not quite sure what they are trying to say!

[GIXXERUK]

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.

 

 

I'm a bit worried about this. Not quite sure what they are trying to say!

 

[RobD7]

Am glad I put the effort into reading this, top stuff, thanks

[martinmac]

Many of these still apply in my village

[Trev-the-Rev]

Definately worth the read.

[Drexyl]

YEARLY BATH???? That's absolutely disgusting!!!!

 

I'm glad that we're more aware of personal hygiene nowadays, I have a bath regularly once a month, whether I need one or not.

[GIXXERUK]

YEARLY BATH???? That's absolutely disgusting!!!!

 

I'm glad that we're more aware of personal hygiene nowadays, I have a bath regularly once a month, whether I need one or not.

 

Overkill mate

[jonb]

Sorry to disappoint - http://www.snopes.com/language/phrases/1500.asp

 

From April 1999! Which was the date of my last bath BTW.

 

 

 

(Strangely randomly posting stuff here on the forum hasn't made my car arrive any sooner, can't wait until I've got better fossil-burning things to do instead)