Having a **** day?

[Wardy]

> Don't know if you already knew this, i didn't!
> Not sure about the end comment though!
>
> Manure
>
> Exciting historical information you need to know about shipping Manure:
>
> In the 16th and 17th centuries, everything had to be transported
> by ship. It was also before commercial fertilizer's invention, so large
> shipments of manure were common.
> It was shipped dry, because in dry form it weighed a lot less than when
> wet.
> But once water (at sea) hit it, it not only became heavier, but the
> process of fermentation began again, of which a byproduct is methane gas.
>
> As the stuff was stored below decks in bundles you can see what could
> (and did) happen.
> Methane began to build up below decks and the first time someone came
> below at night with a lantern:
>
> BOOM!
>
> Several ships were destroyed in this manner before it was determined
> just what was happening.
>
> After that, the bales of manure were stamped with the term
> "Ship High In Transit," and subsequently in abbreviated form S.H.I.T.
> which meant for the sailors to stow it high enough off the lower decks so
> that any
> water that came into the hold would not touch this volatile cargo and
> start the production of methane.
>
> Thus evolved the term 'shit' which has come down through the centuries
> and is in use to this very day.
>
> You probably did not know the true history of this word.
>
> Neither did I.
>
> I always thought it was a golf term..
>

 

[Yorkie]

History of swear words part 2

if anyone was caught having sex outside of wedlock they would be sentenced to sit in the stocks in the village or town square.

The 'crime' they had committed would be written on a plaque around their necks - stealing etc.

Those who had been indulging would have - 'For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge' - written which was too long and so it was abbreviated to an acronym

 

[Ezekiel Rowe]

> It was shipped dry, because in dry form it weighed a lot less than when
> wet.
> But once water (at sea) hit it, it not only became heavier, but the
> process of fermentation began again, of which a byproduct is methane gas.

All very interesting. But if you've got water coming into the bottom of your ship you've got a fundamental problem with sailing haven't you?

 

[ditchy]

Re: Re: Having a **** day?

All very interesting. But if you've got water coming into the bottom of your ship you've got a fundamental problem with sailing haven't you?

All wooden ships/ boats take a small amount of water on board until the timbers swell and form a tight seal

 

[Yorkie]

Re: Re: Having a **** day?

All very interesting. But if you've got water coming into the bottom of your ship you've got a fundamental problem with sailing haven't you?

All ships take on water (waves rain etc) which is why they have pumps in the bilges.

 

[On the Left Wing]

History of swear words part 2

if anyone was caught having sex outside of wedlock they would be sentenced to sit in the stocks in the village or town square.

The 'crime' they had committed would be written on a plaque around their necks - stealing etc.

Those who had been indulging would have - 'For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge' - written which was too long and so it was abbreviated to an acronym

Well f*** me .... lived 48 years and never knew that ... it's amazing how we live and learn
Thanks Yorkie ...

 

[Ezekiel Rowe]

Re: Re: Re: Having a **** day?

All ships take on water (waves rain etc) which is why they have pumps in the bilges.

Oh, riiiiight!

That told me then.

 

[Scarface]

I downloaded a sound file once abount the word f***. it was done by monty python so probably not very accurate but is piss your pants funny!

 

[Man of Harveys]

Well f*** me .... lived 48 years and never knew that ... it's amazing how we live and learn
Thanks Yorkie ...

And, great story though it is, it's sadly not likely to be true. I think the word "f***" originates, as with a load of other "Anglo-Saxon", in old German/Dutch. Germans still use the term "ficken", as the ladies down the Reeperbahn in Hamburg will confirm.

I have a book simply entitled "Swearing" by Geoffrey Hughes which I can strongly recommend.

 

[Brovion]

Correct MOH, it's of Dutch origin. I don't know why the poor anglo-saxons get the blame for everything.

The S.H.I.T. acronym, although a lovely story, is wrong as well. I'm not saying they didn't write it on cargo but the word 'shit' originally meant 'small'. 'Shit-faced' originally was someone with a small face, not someone looking for a fight in West Street at midnight on a Saturday.

I have a book, can't remember the title, which lists loads of words, their origins and how their use has changed over the years. Fascinating stuff.

 

[alan partridge]

the f*** story is a good one but i heard a different one which i can't be bothered to relate, which was all about the king trying to get people to shag...so he issued a decree Fornicate under consent of the king. or something like that. also untrue

 

[Brovion]

There's loads of those acronym stories, I heard one about the origin of the 'C' word but mercifully I can't remember it. Probably the only true one is the origin of 'Posh' which as most people know meant Port Out Starboard Home. This was the preferred way for wealthy people to travel to India as it meant your cabin didn't face the direct heat of the sun.

 

[Vlad the Impala]

'Shit' occurs several times in "The Canterbury Tales" so is much older than this story suggests. It simply meant 'dirty.' Which confirms that Palarse truly are shit, what with living in Croydon and all that.