TALL STORY?

Where did  “piss poor” come from ?

 

 

Us older people need to learn something new every day...

 

Just to keep the grey matter tuned up.

 

Where did "Piss Poor" come from?

Interesting History.

 

They used to use urine to tan animal skins, so families used to all pee in a pot.

 

And then once it was full it was taken and sold to the tannery...

 

if you had to do this to survive you were "Piss Poor".

But worse than that were the really poor folk who couldn't even afford to buy a pot...

 

They "didn't have a pot to piss in" and were the lowest of the low.

 

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 1500's

 

Most people got married in June because they took their yearly bath in May,

 

And they still smelled pretty good by June.. However, since they were starting to smell,

Brides carried a bouquet of flowers to hide the body odour.

 

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.