> Here are some facts about the 1500's

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 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 the
> > 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?)
> > 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; 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 ben 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!!!
> > So get out there and educate someone!
> > Share these facts with a friend.
> > Smile, it gives your face something to
do!