Great list, CapK...some of these practices continued into the 18th century, most notably until they discovered that germs caused disease circa 1870 (they knew about bacteria since the microscope was discovered in the 1700's, but they never got the correlation until a doctor decided to wash his hands before surgery and eliminated infection). The June wedding and 'throwin' the baby out with the bath water" always got a good laugh in my historical interpretation spiel. My other favorite was this:
For centuries people had to use chamber pots when the weather was severe or they were sick (and just before bed), but the poorest people couldn't afford them. And, so..."don't have a pot to piss in."Also, for centuries taverns had a serving niche in the gentlemen's "other room" with a partition that could be closed and locked over it when the laws forbade the sale of alcohol during certain days or hours (as in Blue Laws) so they could still sell food, etc., or when the innkeeper needed to go outside for something. The partition was usually wooden with verticle bars, thus the drinking room came to be called a "bar" or "barroom" instead of a tavern.
"Sleep tight" comes from the fact that mattresses used to be supported by ropes, and if they came loose it made for a very uncomfortable night.
And in the day of the outhouse or privy in centuries past if cornstalks or leaves became scarce they had to improvise, and sticks were not uncommon for such use. That's right, "the dirty end of the stick," "the s**t end of the stick," in all it's different phrases. No...don't pick up
that end of it!
And poor farming families usually had one bedroom and one wide bed for the entire family. The mother and father slept in the middle with the daughters next to Mom and the sons next to Dad. And since they had such large families in those days (usually 10-15 children, you needed hands to run the farm and childhood mortality was high), I guess their amorous moments consisted of "Hurry up! I think they're all asleep!"
Until the late 1800's most USn's chewed tobacco, and they were notorious for spitting on the floors of all public buildings, even churches and courtrooms. They had spittoons, but they didn't bother...too incovenient. And foreign travelers would often complain bitterly about "the awful habit these disgusting Americans have of chewin' tobacco and spitting it everywhere." There's a documented account of an 1826 session of the Virginia House of Burgesses (this is the aristocratic political body, folks) where "the floor was completely awash with their disgusting tobacco juice").
The habit of not bathing was peculiar to Europeans who were warned by physicians in the late 1300's during The Plague that bathing was dangerous because it could wash away the oils and leave them vulnerable to the disease. This pungent no-bath period lasted in Europe until the late 1700's. By 1400 hundred it became fashionable and a status symbol among the Royalty and aristocrats to claim that portions of their body had never been touched by water. Like Napolean, who never bathed, they had massages with French cologne on a daily basis. When the English (whom, I'm afraid, were the most notorious of all the Europeans in their zeal for not-bathing), first embarked in Massachusetts in the 1600's the Amerindians thought they were filthy people because the Indians said "you could smell 'em before you saw them coming!" The Amerindians swam and bathed daily in the warm weather (as was the case with most African and Asian peoples). In the 1700's Europeans were still afraid to even swim, and picture our USn "Founding Fathers," Franklin and Washington, in those hot clothes never dousing for a full-bodied wash. In fact, Benjamin Franklin was noted for inventing what he called "the air bath" where he'd strip naked and flap his arms in the air...claimed it was healthy for you....this was quite an innovation! Once folks attempted to brave those treacherous bath waters again in the late 1700's, and continuing until they learned the value of cleanliness in the 1870's, one bath a year was usually the rule. And as CapK pointed out, they'd take their first (some braved up to 3 a year by the mid 1800's!) or only bath in May when the weather warmed. And since they still smelled good in June this is why the tradition of the June wedding was born...so much for the romance ladies. AND the custom of the bridal bouquet was to add perfume and fragrance to the bride's personage. AND a bridal shower was called a "shower" because that's when her female friends and relatives got together to help bathe and perfume her sometime before the wedding! Enjoy your next bath or shower, folks!
I think every child should have a course in lifestyle history at a very young age. They might appreciate what they have a little more...I know I would've!
