[or-roots] some facts about the 1500s:

[Gene Newcomb]

Folks,

Do a search on some fairly unique phrase in this "facts.." and you will find
much discussion about the inaccuracy of this unattributed essay. It has been
floating around the web since the late 90's and is no more accurate today
than it was when first posted.

For the sake of all, do not pass it on.

Gene

-----Original Message-----
From: or-roots-bounces at listsmart.osl.state.or.us
[mailto:or-roots-bounces at listsmart.osl.state.or.us] On Behalf Of Nancy Lee
Adams
Sent: Saturday, October 09, 2010 8:23 AM
To: or-roots mail list
Subject: Re: [or-roots] some facts about the 1500s:

Sally,

Thank you for sending 'some facts about the 1500s'. I enjoyed reading it so 
much I read it to my daughter while I was in Virginia for 2 weeks. I'm back 
home now in Oregon and thought I had deleted it by accident but I found it 
on my home computer : ) .. I'm going to print it out & save it.. Thanks 
again, Nancy

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Sally" <sallyya at frontiernet.net>
To: <or-roots at listsmart.osl.state.or.us>
Sent: Sunday, October 03, 2010 1:07 PM
Subject: [or-roots] some facts about the 1500s:


>
> I got this on another list and enjoyed it so much I thought I would share 
> it with all of you.
> 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 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 whiskey. 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 to run 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!!!
> So...get out there and educate someone! ~~~ Share these facts with a 
> friend.

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