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sábado, 26 de março de 2011

Curiosities of the years 1600 to 1700 - Part 2

When you visit the Palace of Versalles in Paris, observed that the sumptuous Palace has no bathrooms. In the Middle Ages, there were no toothbrushes, perfumes, deodorants, much less toilet paper. The human excrescences were dumped out of the windows of the palace. On the feast day, the palace kitchen could prepare for banquet 1,500 people without the minimum hygiene. We see in movies today people being waged. The explanation is not in heat, but the stench that oozed from under the skirts (which were purposely made to contain the odor of the genitals, since there were no hygiene). There wasn’t the custom to bathe due to both cold and almost absence of piped water. The odor had dissipated by the shaker. Only the nobles had lackeys to shake them to remove the stench that the body and mouth stank, it would also scare bugs away. Who has been to Versalles much admired the huge and beautiful gardens which, at that time, were not only contemplated, but "used" as toilet at the famous ballads promoted by the monarchy, because there was no bathroom. In the Middle Ages, most marriages took place in June (for them, early summer). The reason is simple: the first bath of the year was taken in May, so in June, the smell of people was still tolerable. However, as some odors were beginning to bother, brides carried bouquets of flowers, on the body, to disguise the smell. Hence the term "May " as the "Month Brides "and the explanation of the origin of the bridal bouquet. Baths were taken in a single tub, huge, full of hot water. The head of the family had the privilege of the first bath in clean water. Then, without changing the water, came the men of the house, in order of age, women, also by age and finally the children. The babies were the last to bathe. When it was their turn, the water from the tank was already so dirty that it was possible to "lose" a baby in there. That is why there is the English expression "do not throw the baby out with the bath water", i.e., literally "do not throw the baby out with the bath water", which is used today for the hastier person.