Too good to be true!

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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 1500's:

1 - 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.

2 - Baths consisted of a big tub filled with hot water.  The man of the house had the privilege of the nice clean water, followed by all the other sons and men, then the women, and finally the children and last of all the babies.  By then the water was so dirty you could actually loose someone in it - hence the saying, "Don't throw the baby out with the bath water. "

3 - 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."

4 - 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 "canopies began."

5 - 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 the saying a "threshold."

6 - 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 over-night 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."

7 - 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 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 on the fat."

8 - 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."

Interesting!!