I thought this was interesting, I've heard most of
these sayings, but was unaware of how they started.
(Except "saved by the bell" one....
**LIFE IN THE 1500'S *****
*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 still smelled pretty good by June.
However, they were** **starting to smell , so 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 entranceway. Hence the saying**: **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 whisky. 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 ! ! !*
* Educate someone. Share these facts with a friend.*

http://www.snopes.com/language/phrases/1500.asp

false.

I just love Snopes. They keep it true, better than any other on the Web. The additional information they offered was more interesting and revealing of that period than what was stated in the creative narrative that I posted. Good work CM!