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You think times are hard now !


GIXXERUK

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know this looks like alot of writing, but take the time

> > to read it..... its actually quite an education!!!!!

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> > LIFE IN THE 1500'S Interesting! The next time you are

> > taking a shower 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 life in the 1500's:

> > 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

> > 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

> > '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.

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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.

 

 

I'm a bit worried about this. Not quite sure what they are trying to say! :lol:

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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.

 

 

I'm a bit worried about this. Not quite sure what they are trying to say! :lol:

 

:lol::lol:

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