FACTS ABOUT THE 1500'SThe next time you're washing your hands and complain about the water temperature isn't just how you like, look about how things used to be.Here are some.....Most people got married in June because they took their yearly bath in Mayand still smelled pretty good by June. However, they were starting to smellso brides carried a bouquet of flowers to hide the body odor. Hence thecustom today of carrying a bouquet when getting married.* * * * * *Baths consisted of a big tub filled with hot water. The man of the house hadthe privilege of the nice clean water, then all the other sons and men, thenthe women and finally the children-last of all the babies. By then the waterwas so dirty you could actually lose someone in it. Hence the old 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 dogs, cats and othersmall animals (mice, bugs) lived in the roof. When it rained it became slipperyand 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 realproblem in the bedroom where bugs and other droppings could really mess upyour nice clean bed. Hence a bed with big posts and a sheet hung over the topafforded some protection. That's how canopy beds came into existence.* * * * * *The floor was dirt. Only the wealthy had something other than dirt. Hencethe 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 thewinter wore on, they kept adding more thresh until when you opened thedoor it would all start slipping outside. A piece of wood was placed in theentranceway. Hence the saying, a "thresh hold."* * * * * *In those old days, they cooked in the kitchen with a big kettle that alwayshung 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 thestew for dinner, leaving leftovers in the pot to get cold overnight and thenstart over the next day. Sometimes the stew had food in it that had beenthere for quite a while. Hence the rhyme, " Peas porridge hot, peas porridgecold, 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." Theywould 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 contentcaused some of the lead to leach onto the food, causing lead poisoning anddeath. This happened most often with tomatoes, so for the next 400 yearsor so, tomatoes were considered poisonous.* * * * * *Bread was divided according to status. Workers got the burnt bottom ofthe loaf, the family got the middle, and guests got the top, or "upper crust."* * * * * *Lead cups were used to drinking whisky. That combination would sometimesknock them out for a couple of days. Someone walking along the road wouldtake them for dead and prepare them for burial. They were laid out on thekitchen table for a couple of days and the family would gather around andeat and drink and wait and see if they would wake up. Hence the custom ofholding a "wake."* * * * * *England is old and small and the local folks started running out of places tobury 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 of25 coffins were found to have scratch marks on the inside and they realizedthey had been burying people alive. So they thought they would tie a stringon the wrist of the corpse, lead it through the coffin and up through theground and tie it to a bell. Someone would have to sit out in the graveyardall night (the "graveyard shift") to listen for the bell; thus, someone could be"saved by the bell", or maybe considered a "dead ringer."

Those are some crazy interesting facts.You must have alot of time on your hands.

no, not really, lol, i just got it off my other forum, thought it was quite interesting, so i decited tro post it on here, hope i was allowed. i thought some of them were kinda creepy :shock:

i rem hearing this in history class. i had some other ones but they were erased...... -G

wow..pretty interesting. and yes most things are allowed in the main hall so post away

Wow, that is interesting.