Some education

Posted by Andera Y at 10:03

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 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.
------ Now we know

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 W hen 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 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 the 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 History was boring ! ! ! 

Random

Posted by Andera Y at 10:41

Am cateodata tendinta sa ma apuc sa scriu ce franturi prind din miile de ganduri care mi se zbat in cap si se agita si se lovesc intre ele si alearga care incotro fara sa reusesc sa ma concentrez asupra nici unuia. Stiati ca avem zilnic aproximativ 70 000 de ganduri? Scria intr-un horoscop (apropo de postul cu horoscopul) ca varsatorii sunt cele mai ciudate fiinte de pe Terra... 

Zau daca inteleg rostul gecilor de piele cu diverse pliuri si catarame... Inafara de faptul ca emana un iz ingrozitor dupa ce trei sferturi din an stau inghesuite printre alte haine groase, sunt pur si simplu oribile! Zgarie privirea si polueaza aerul. Serios, ar trebui interzise prin lege.

Daca tot se dau legi care mai de care mai idioate, de ce n-ar fi o lege care sa interzica gecile de acest gen? Spre exemplu, in statul Alabama cine poarta mustata falsa, susceptibila de a starni rasete in biserica, este pasibil de pedeapsa. Amuzant? Nu. Este cat se poate de real. La fel de reala este si legea care spune ca este ilegal sa impingi un elan viu dintr-un avion aflat in miscare. Prin urmare, daca vreti sa vizitati Alaska, impingeti, va rog, elanii afara din avioane atunci cand acestea nu sunt in miscare. Pentru barbati, oferta speciala in statul Arkansas unde au dreptul legal de a-si bate sotiile , dar nu mai mult de o data pe luna. Tot pentru barbati, statul Michigan ofera una dintre cele mai favorabile legi si anume aceea ca sotiile nu au voie sa se tunda fara asentimentul sotilor lor. Ei bine da, uneori chiar este nevoie ca legea sa zica ceva in privinta anumitor  tunsori pe care unele femei le considera trendy, dar de unde stim ca barbatii respectivelor femei au mai multa minte ca ele?... Cica in California legea pedepseste hartuirea fluturilor cu amenzi ce atarna destul de greu. Hartuirea fluturilor???

Una peste alta, luand in considerare doar aceste cateva exemple de "legi" , cred ca propunerea mea pentru interzicerea acelor geci ar fi unanim aprobata , ba chiar aclamata ....

Ca tot vorbeam de fluturi, cel mai frumos lucru care mi s-a spus vreodata - si pe care abia acum incep sa-l pricep oarecum (si nu, nu din cauza legii aleia stupide) - a fost ca seman cu un zbor de fluturi.

Cica fluturii au o traiectorie foarte bine pusa la punct, desi ochiul uman ar percepe-o ca pe un zbor haotic. Aceeasi traiectorie sigura o are chipurile economia mondiala care se duce la dracu. Nici nu vreau sa intru in amanunte la acest capitol pentru ca deja oftez si dau ochii peste cap.

Ati auzit ca iar fac astia greve peste greve? "Daca nu ne dati..." Daca nu va da , ce? Ce credeti ca o sa faceti? Stati in greva si va dati foc  acolo in strada, credeti ca da cineva doi bani pe asta? Se apropie sarbatorile, aveti mai multe sanse sa luati ceva daca mergeti cu "ne dati ori nu ne dati" din usa in usa decat sa asteptati ceva de la "aia mari".  Ca bine zice un amic care are acum urmatorul status: "We are the architects of our own destruction." Da, noi la modul de grup, de populatie, dar nu individual. Adica degeaba se aduna 2, 3 , 10 oameni laolalta ca sa protesteze impotriva unor lucruri. Nu sunt bagati in seama, timpul trece, le trece si lor pofta de a se razvrati si ne intoarcem de unde am plecat, doar ca avand mai multi nervi si un gust amar. Nu, nu va ganditi: "cum, domne', vor fi mai multumiti ca macar au incercat sa faca ceva bla bla...". Pe naiba.  Ar avea mult mai multe sanse sa militeze pentru adoptarea legii impotriva gecilor de piele, zau asa...