Imagine, Oxford in the 1600's. Picture the cured fish hanging on the fishmongers wharf, the open sewers, the warm malt beer... there's manure everywhere. Can you see it? Can you see things like people's faces clearly? How clear is the picture? Are people moving or at a stand still? What of smell? Or the hearing? Can you engage a "minds" smell? A minds "ear"? Just curious, MII
I can "imagine" it with such a good decription but why?:shrug: In George Washington's days, there were no cameras. One's image was either sculpted or painted. Some paintings of George Washington showed him standing behind a desk with one arm behind his back while others showed both legs and both arms. Prices charged by painters were not based on how many people were to be painted, but by how many limbs were to be painted. Arms and legs are "limbs," therefore painting them would cost the buyer more. Hence the expression, "Okay, but it'll cost you an arm and a leg." Â As incredible as it sounds, men and women took baths only twice a year (May and October)! Women kept their hair covered, while men shaved their heads (because of lice and bugs) and wore wigs. Wealthy men could afford good wigs made from wool. They couldn't wash the wigs, so to clean them they would carve out a loaf of bread, put the wig in the shell, and bake it for 30 minutes The heat would make the wig big and fluffy, hence the term "big wig." Today we often use the term "here comes the Big Wig" because someone appears to be, or is, powerful and wealthy. In the late 1700s, many houses consisted of a large room with only one chair. Commonly, a long wide board folded down from the wall, and was used for dining. The "head of the household" always sat in the chair while everyone else ate sitting on the floor Occasionally a guest, who was usually a man, would be invited to sit in this chair during a meal. To sit in the chair meant you were important and in charge. They called the one sitting in the chair the "chair man." Today in business, we use the expression or title "Chairman" or "Chairman an of the Board." Â Personal hygiene left much room for improvement.As a result, many women and men had developed acne scars by adulthood. The women would spread bee's wax over their facial skin to smooth out their complexions. When they were speaking to each other, if a woman began to stare at another woman's face she was told, "mind your own bee's wax." Should the woman smile, the wax would crack, hence the term "crack a smile" In addition, when they sat too close to the fire, the wax would melt. Therefore, the expression "losing face." < /B> Ladies wore corsets, which would lace up in the front A proper and dignified woman, as in "straight laced" .. . Wore a tightly tied lace. Â Common entertainment included playing cards. However, there was a tax levied when purchasing playing cards but only applicable to the "Ace of Spades." To avoid paying the tax, people would purchase 51 cards instead. Yet, since most games require 52 cards, these people were thought to be stupid or dumb because they weren't "playing with a full deck." Â Early politicians required feedback from the public to determine what the people considered important. Since there were no telephones, TV's or radios, the politicians sent their assistants to local taverns, pubs, and bars. They were told to "go sip some ale" and listen to people's conversations and political concerns. Many assistants were dispatched at different times. "You go sip here" and "You go sip there." The two words "go sip" were eventually combined when referring to the local opinion and, thus we have the term "gossip ." At local taverns, pubs, and bars, people drank from pint and quart-sized containers. A bar maid's job was to keep an eye on the customers and keep the drinks coming. She had to pay close attention and remember who was drinking in "pints" and who was drinking in "quarts," hence the term "minding your "P's and Q's." Â One more: bet you didn't know this one! In the heyday of sailing ships, all war ships and many freighters carried iron cannons. Those cannons fired round iron cannon balls. It was necessary to keep a good supply near the cannon. However, how to prevent them from rolling about the deck? The best storage method devised was a square-based pyramid with one ball on top, resting on four resting on nine, which rested on sixteen. Thus, a supply of 30 cannon balls could be stacked in a small area right next to the cannon. There was only one problem...how to prevent the bottom layer from sliding or rolling from under the others. The solution was a metal plate called a "Monkey" with 16 round indentations. Â However, if this plate were made of iron, the iron balls would quickly rust to it. The solution to the rusting problem was to make "Brass Monkeys." Few land lubbers realize that brass contracts much more and much faster than iron when chilled. Consequently, when the temperature dropped too far, the brass indentations would shrink so much that the iron cannonballs would come right off the monkey. Thus, it was quite literally, "Cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey." (All this time, you thought that was an improper expression, didn't you.)
I love those sorts of stories Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! Thanks! But what I was wondering about more, was really, imagination. It is possible to imagine and "see" things in our imagination. But, can we hear or smell imaginations?
I like this one. It's a good one and I wish I'd thought of it because it's the kind you so *want* to be true. But it is a little too good... http://www.snopes.com/language/stories/brass.asp
How about this one. Ships transporting manure in the ocean sometimes blew up as well as after they arrived in port. On investigation, they found that manure when wet with water formed ammonia gas and ammonia nitrate. When the lit flame of a hand held lantern came in contact with the above it created a big explosion. Hence, they started stamping freight with manure, store high in the water, or shit....I think thats how it came about....smiles.
Thanks for letting me know about this misinformation, I shall see to it that he is drawn and quarterd post haste! Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
In the days of thatch, roofs were the coolest place for small animals to bed, including small dogs and cats. However, when it rained, the thatch became slippery, and if it rained too hard, it started raining cats and dogs. The shorter the leg on the dog, the easier for it to stay up on the roof. Germany developed a special breed of dog designed for roofs. In German, roof is Dach, and dog is Hund [like hound], so the dachshund was specially designed for being on the roof. Thatch when loose is also called thresh. Floors were typically covered with thresh to keep you off of the mud. To keep the thresh from spilling out the front door, a stick was placed there that would hold in the thresh, i.e. the threshold. Plates were made of wood, which could be shaven to give a new surface. They were usually square in shape. To get a square meal was to get a full meal on a plate.
The miller had an important job to make flour. It was not an easy task; too little pressure on the grindstone, and the flour was too coarse; too much pressure and the flour would start to burn. The ardent miller would keep his nose to the grindstone to make certain he was not causing the flour to burn, while maximizing the pressure.
During the start of the industrial revolution, workers in France would sometimes find they were being driven too hard. To slow things up, they would sometimes take off one of their wooden shoes and throw it into the gears of the machinery. Those shoes were called sabots, and the persons who did such acts were saboteurs, and the act itself was referred to as sabotage.
