by CCash | Apr 11, 2020 | Blog, DIY History
In the 16th century, the word “corn” applied to any plant which produced a seed that could be harvested and then turned into breads, cereals, and other flours for baking food items and even the most popular beverage in England, ale, which was safer to drink than water...
by CCash | Apr 4, 2020 | Blog, DIY History
The OED (The Oxford English Dictionary) records the origin of the umbrella linguistically as the word “fannell” (which is sometimes spelled “Phanelle”). This term was used for an umbrella only briefly in history, and we know that from a single...
by CCash | Mar 21, 2020 | Blog, DIY History
Did Shakespeare Write During Plague? Elizabethan theaters were frequently shuttered in London during outbreaks of the bubonic plague, which claimed nearly a third of the city’s population. The official rule was that once the death rate exceeded thirty per week,...
by CCash | Mar 14, 2020 | Blog, DIY History
Woman and Child on Bleaching Field, c. 1658. Oil on Canvas. Source The short answer to this question is No, but only because men typically did not wash their clothes in the 16th century. Keeping linens clean, including clothing items, were done by women. (Men were...
by CCash | Mar 7, 2020 | Blog, DIY History
Letter image from the Folger Shakespeare Library. The short answer this week is No, Shakespeare did not have a mailbox because mailboxes weren’t invented until close to 300 years after Shakespeare’s death, during the 1850s. But there are letters talked about in...
by CCash | Feb 29, 2020 | Blog, DIY History
Pillows or beres were considered unmanly, reserved for the old, young girls and pregnant women, yet there was also a belief that it was necessary to sleep propped up to prevent devils entering the open mouth and stealing away your soul. Real men rested their heads on...
