eddieh
02-12-2003, 09:14 PM
not really a joke but I liked this hope you guys do too, but I have to say loved that walmart application!!! LOL, cheers eddie
>>History Lesson
>>
>>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 of carrying a bouquet when getting married.
>>
>>Baths consisted of big tubs filled with hot water. The man of the
>>house had
>>the privilege of 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 dogs,
>>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 where bugs and other droppings could really mess up
>>your 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
>>the floor
>>to help keep their footing. As the winter wore on, they kept adding
>>more
>>thresh until, when you opened the door it would all start slipping
>>outside.
>>A piece of wood was placed in the entranceway - hence a "thresh
>>hold."
>>
>>In those old days they cooked in a 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 didn't 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 the 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,
>>they would hang up their bacon to show off. It was a sign of wealth
>>that the
>>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 into the food, causing lead
>>poisoning and
>>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, 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 them 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 would wake up - hence the
>>custom of
>>holding a "wake."
>>
>>England is old and small and local folks started running out of
>>places to
>>bury people. They would dig up coffins and would take the bone to
>>the
>>"bone-house" and reuse the grave. When reopening these coffins, 1
>>out of 25
>>were found to have scratch marks on the inside and they realised
>>they had
>>been burying people alive. 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
>>(graveyard
>>shift) to listen for the bell, thus someone would be "saved by the
>>bell" or
>>was considered a "dead ringer."
>>
>>Whoever said that history was boring?
>
>>History Lesson
>>
>>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 of carrying a bouquet when getting married.
>>
>>Baths consisted of big tubs filled with hot water. The man of the
>>house had
>>the privilege of 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 dogs,
>>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 where bugs and other droppings could really mess up
>>your 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
>>the floor
>>to help keep their footing. As the winter wore on, they kept adding
>>more
>>thresh until, when you opened the door it would all start slipping
>>outside.
>>A piece of wood was placed in the entranceway - hence a "thresh
>>hold."
>>
>>In those old days they cooked in a 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 didn't 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 the 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,
>>they would hang up their bacon to show off. It was a sign of wealth
>>that the
>>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 into the food, causing lead
>>poisoning and
>>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, 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 them 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 would wake up - hence the
>>custom of
>>holding a "wake."
>>
>>England is old and small and local folks started running out of
>>places to
>>bury people. They would dig up coffins and would take the bone to
>>the
>>"bone-house" and reuse the grave. When reopening these coffins, 1
>>out of 25
>>were found to have scratch marks on the inside and they realised
>>they had
>>been burying people alive. 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
>>(graveyard
>>shift) to listen for the bell, thus someone would be "saved by the
>>bell" or
>>was considered a "dead ringer."
>>
>>Whoever said that history was boring?
>