T13

Today I'm going to go back to the 1500s to share some interesting facts.

1. "June Bride" Do you know where the tradition of June weddings comes from? Most people got married in June because they took their yearly baths in May and still smelled pretty good in June.

2. "Wedding Bouquet" Did you know this also where the tradition of the wedding bouquet comes in to play? They carried flowers to help hide some of the body odor.

3. "Don't throw the baby out with the wash water." This came from the fact that baths consisted of a large tub of water. The man of the house got the clean water. Then came the sons and other men, then the women and finally the children. By the time the baby came to be washed the water was so filthy you could actually lose someone in it!

4. "It’s Raining Cats and Dogs" Houses were made with thatched roofs made of thick straw piled high and no wood underneath. The only place for the animals to get warm and keep dry was up in the thatch. When it rained it became slippery and the animals would sometimes slip through.

5. "Canopy Bed" There was also nothing to stop things from falling into the house and on the beds. Bugs and animal droppings would fall into them and make the people understandably uncomfortable so they began tying sheets to large posts. Thus the canopy bed was born.

6. "Dirt poor". The floor in a poor persons house was dirt while the richer ones had wood and other materials under foot.

7. "Bring home the bacon." Sometimes the people were able to get their hands on pork and this made them feel quite special. When visitors came over they would show off their hanging bacon.

8. "Chewing the fat." There would be a bit shaved off the pork and shared with their visitors. They would all sit around and chew the fat.

9. "Having a wake". Lead cups were used to drink ale and whiskey. Sometimes this combination could be enough to knock the drinker out for days. Someone walking by would sometimes prepare these individuals for burial. They would lay the person out on the table and watch to see if the family member/friend would wake up.

10. "Dead ringer". When the local people began running out of places to bury the dead, especially during times of epidemics like the plague, they would unbury coffins and put the remains in a bone house and then reuse the grave for someone else. While reopening these coffins (its believed that about 1 out of every 25) were discovered to have claw marks inside the coffins and they realized they’d been burying people alive. So a string was tied to the wrist and attached to a bell above the grave. Someone would sit out in the graveyard all night and listen for the bell.

11. "The graveyard shift" Comes from the above example. The person stuck with the task of remaining in the graveyard all night.

12. "Saved by the bell" again the above example. When a "dead ringer" rang their bell, they were saved by the sound.

13. "Upper Crust." Bread was divided up by status. Workers got the burned or bottom crust of the loaf. The family got the middle and guest received the top.



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