and whoever says we have to take care of the poor....i agree....but what is poor????? having 3 TV's, cable, 2 cars, etc. etc.???? Historically....these people would be in the wealthiest .00001%!!!!!!!!
THIS......IS POOR:
> > Subject: Interesting Historical Facts
> >
> >
> > 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 from the way folks lived in the 1500s:
> >
> > 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 dogs, 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 really
> mess
> > up yo ur 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 kept adding 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."
> >
> > * * * * * *
> >
> > 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 the 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, then 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
and
> > 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 them 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 thought 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 sa id that History was boring ! ! ! ! !
