eshda3wa
September 22, 2009
Learn A Little English
I go this by email and i like it, so thought id share it with u -
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:
They used to use urine to tan animal skins, so families used to all pee in a pot & then once a day it was taken & 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.
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 n ice 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 entrance-way. Hence: a thresh hold.
(Getting quite an education, aren't you?)
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.
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 and see if they would wake up. Hence the custom of holding a wake.
And that's the truth...Now, whoever said History was boring ! ! !
P.s
3eedkom imbarak
20 Comments:
interesting facts i dont think i would have ever figured out other than from the internet! hehe
Speechless!!!
Wow! Good to know.
Imagine if all e-mails were this interesting instead of the horrid forwards that are being sent around...
Eid mubarak ;)
Happy Eid :D
interesting history lesson.
Interesting..
I don't blame them for foul odors 500 years ago, but what's their excuse nowadays??
we have de"odor"ant, showers and all!
I don't get why people still stink!
Dark ages were really Dark .. i remember i once visited a museum of the pre-victorian age or something .. i thought then El7amdella 3ala el 3eesha elly 3eshnaha :)
http://www.snopes.com/language/phrases/1500.asp
its a joke...
WOW thats cool :) TY
and 3alaina oh 3alaich ^^
Happy eid hun! I love history and these are so interesting!
OMG !!!
I'm amazed .. 7adda new info .. i'm like "ambaih" ever line & the other lol
really interesting
thanx 4 sharing =]
this is sooo intresting :D
thaanks 4 sharing!! i really enjoyed it
Thanks ,that was fun and Ayamech sa3eeda
Now where did the term "It was so cold it squeezed the brass balls off the monkey "
They say on British gun boats they used to pile the canon balls on a brass tray they call it the monkey , but when it got very cold ,the tray contracted so it squeezed the brass balls and they just fell from the tray .
Thanks for sharing ... o 3eedich embarak
thats disgusting
Oh come on! Is that for real?
OMG LOL!! We've come a long way :p
very interesting!
oo 3eedich embarak =)
Nice email walah :P
w nice information :)
Wow! amazing history of them phrases indeed. :D loved it
will post arnd :D
veeeeery interseting. Loved this post. :D
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