I received this in an email from my mom....who got it from her other son-in-law (David not Clay). Thought these were just too good not to share. Would make a great History lesson for some of you Homeschoolers!
Some of our expressions are interesting
in their origin. Thought that I would pass these along to you so from now on
when you hear one of these expressions you will know how it came to
be.
Where did “piss poor” come from ?
Us older people
need to learn something new every day..
Just to keep the
grey matter tuned up.
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
And then once a
day it was taken and 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" and 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..
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,
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 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 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
whiskey.
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!!!
So get out there and educate someone!
~~~
Share these facts
with a friend.
Inside every older person is a younger person
wondering,
'What the heck
happened?'
We'll be friends until we are old and senile.
Then we'll be new
friends.
Smile,
it gives your face
something to do!
