THIS IS INTERESTING 

Keep reading, there are some fascinating bits of info here. 

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: 

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 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 "threshhold."

(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...Share these facts with a friend

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