>>Life  in the middle ages.
>>
>>>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:
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>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. 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 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...Share these facts with a friend

P.S. - The above info was sent to me by a friend. If there's anything wrong then plz feel free to correct me.