When we mention the country Britain, it may appear in our mind that she was the most powerful country during the 18th and the 19th centuries. However, what else do you know about Britain, especially when it was in 16th century? Recently I have read something about Britain in the past, and I would like to share some interesting facts with you.
It is hard to believe that British people took only one bath per year at that time, and they had the yearly bath in May. As a result, most of them got married in June as they were not too smelly then. However, they were starting to smell, so a bunch of flowers was usually held by the bride during the weeding in order to hide the bad smell.
As to the yearly bath, there is another funny fact. When a tub of clean, hot water was ready, let’s guess who had the privilege of having bath firstly? The answer is the man who was in charge of the whole family. Then his brothers or sons would have bath, followed by women and children. However, the interesting thing is that British people did not replace the used, dirty water with clean water. What they did is to use the initial tub of water again and again, until the last person finished. Usually babies took bath in the end, when the water was so dirty that it was not transparent at all. So the saying goes, “Do not throw the baby out with the bath water.”
What about the houses at that time? Most people lived in thatched cottages, if you were not very rich. The roof was made of straw at that time, which could be very slippery when it was raining outside. Some domestic animals, for example, dogs and cats, usually lived on the roof because it was really a warm place to stay. So, when it rained, the dogs and cats might fall off from the roof. The saying “It is raining cats and dogs”, which is used to describe heavy rain, comes from here.
Many people love eating tomato nowadays, but it is quite hard to believe that tomato was considered poisonous in Europe in 16th century. Actually, some people died after eating tomatoes. The problem lies in the utensils used at that time. The upper classes in Britain used plates made of tin and lead at that time. When they ate food contained much acid, the lead, which is poisonous, would easily leak and got into the food. As a result, some people died, and tomatoes were considered poisonous during the following several centuries in Europe.
All the things are interesting, aren’t they?
It is the first time for me to know the reason of “Do not throw the baby out with the bath water”，and” It is raining cats and dogs”. I have heard about this two phrases many times before, but I never know reasons behind them .From your blog ,I learn a lot.
ReplyDeleteHowever, although you write three interesting things about Britain in 16th century ：bath\house\tomato. However, I do not think I see any relationships among them in your blog, so I think the structure or the arrangement of your blog is a little strange, and I think you can use more linking verbs to link each paragraph smoother.
It's quite disgust for old British people didn't change bath water. And the "dog and cat" story is really interesting though I have no idea how they could live on the roof. Anyway, thank you for your sharing and I like it.
ReplyDeleteDear Tim
ReplyDeleteWhen one considered that the first white settlers in America and Australia were prisoners-of-war sent from Britain, then, there's no mistaking how powerful Britain was, then.
Anyway, just like Lee Bixi and thanks to you, I now know the origins for the two idioms: "raining cats and dogs" and "throwing out the baby with the bathwater".
By the way, you can always type the words of an idiom into www.google.com or www.dictionary.com to find out its origin/history.
Tim, your writing has improved a lot. Just compare your 6th Blog with the first/second Blog and the answer is obvious.
Keep it up!
Wilson
It surprises me that they actually took shower once per year. Though they could stand the smell, how could they stand itches on their skin or hair? Nowadays, I do not think one could bear to bath once a year. If I were limited to bath only once a year, I would rather die!
ReplyDeleteI discovered many funny things about the British people, you see, everyone is not elegant for the whole time. They also came through a hard time from rudeness to civilisation.
ReplyDeleteIt is really funny. I knew they use "It is raining cats and dogs"to decribe a heavy rain but I did not knew the reason. Besides, I cannot understand why they bathed once a year, since they used flowers to hide the bad smell during the wedding, why not they try to eliminate the smell by bathing? Hard to understand~~~
ReplyDeletehistory is always interesting. but maybe we'd better not mock the ancient people. but it's still enjoyable to read about it.
ReplyDelete