Life in the 1500's

Next tike your computer chucks 's a hissy fit or your dishwasher or 

automatic washing machine doesn’t work, instead of getting all hot 

under the collar about it, think of how

much better off we are in so many ways than our ancestors.

Have a look at some of their problems;

LIFE IN THE 1500's

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. (nice clean bed ? these people were only bathing annually)
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 winterwhen
wet, so they spread thresh (straw) on the floor to help keep their footing.
As the winter wore on, they addedmore 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 t 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 ! ! !