Life In the 1500"s.... Funny... But we should be thankful we live now.

Dusty · 07-05-2008, 04:55 PM

LIFE IN THE 1500'S

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:
>
> 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 odour. 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 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
> 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 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 History was boring ! ! ! I

forgivenWretch · 07-05-2008, 05:11 PM

Ahhh! the gold old days just as I remember them!

Dusty · 07-05-2008, 05:21 PM

Fluffy · 07-05-2008, 06:03 PM

Veddy interrrestink!
Loved it!

NearertoGod · 07-05-2008, 07:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fluffy

Veddy interrrestink!
Loved it!

^

Dusty · 07-06-2008, 03:04 AM

Who knew. Do you think this is all myth or truth ?

Rumely · 07-06-2008, 06:13 AM

I find it more useful to take my annual bath in October. That way, I stay fresh over the winter months. By spring, I have a film of natural sunblock and bug repellant.

u ne la nv i u we tsi · 07-06-2008, 07:01 AM

Good thing people began to apply science to bettering the lives of people.

revlynn · 07-06-2008, 07:34 AM

Does make "the olden days" seem somewhat less romantic, doesn't it!

blessings,

Lynn

Dusty · 07-06-2008, 02:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rumely

I find it more useful to take my annual bath in October. That way, I stay fresh over the winter months. By spring, I have a film of natural sunblock and bug repellant.

He he he

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