Lithium
New member
Where did Piss Poor come from?
Interesting History
They used to use urine to tan animal skins, so families.
Used to all pee in a Pot & then once a day it was taken
& sold to the tannery.......if you had to do
this to survive. You were "Piss Poor"
But worse than that were the really poor folk
who couldn't Even afford to buy a pot.....they
"didn't have a pot to Piss in" & were the lowest
of the low 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(USED TO BE STILL ARE).
Here are some facts about The 1500s: Most people
Got married in June because they took their Yearly
bath in May, and they still smelled pretty good by
June. However, since they were starting to smell
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, the. 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 itbecame 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 entrance-way. Hence: 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 and 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. Thishappened 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 whiskey. The combination would sometimes
knock the imbibers out for a couple of days. Someone walking along the road
wouldtake 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 btie 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!!!
So...get out there and educate someone! ~~~
Interesting History
They used to use urine to tan animal skins, so families.
Used to all pee in a Pot & then once a day it was taken
& sold to the tannery.......if you had to do
this to survive. You were "Piss Poor"
But worse than that were the really poor folk
who couldn't Even afford to buy a pot.....they
"didn't have a pot to Piss in" & were the lowest
of the low 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(USED TO BE STILL ARE).
Here are some facts about The 1500s: Most people
Got married in June because they took their Yearly
bath in May, and they still smelled pretty good by
June. However, since they were starting to smell
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, the. 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 itbecame 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 entrance-way. Hence: 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 and 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. Thishappened 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 whiskey. The combination would sometimes
knock the imbibers out for a couple of days. Someone walking along the road
wouldtake 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 btie 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!!!
So...get out there and educate someone! ~~~