Bit o' history...

A bit of maritime historical information: Ever wonder where the word 'sh!t' came from?

In the early days of commercial shipping, manure, as with countless other commodities, was shipped by sea. In dry form, manure was relatively light in weight and was easily manageable in shipping.

However, stored in the lower holds below the water line, if it became wet, it held the moisture and became a weight problem. More than that the fermentation process was set in motion (the by-product being methane gas).

The manure was stored below decks in bundles. If they became wet, methane began to build up. When someone went below deck at night with a lantern...KABOOM!!!

Several ships were destroyed in this manner before it was understood what was happening. After the discovery maritime regulations stated that all bundles of manure where to be stamped with the letters S.H.I.T. for 'Ship High in Transit.' In other words, this particular cargo must be stored high
enough above the lower decks so that any water, which came into the hold, would not wet the volatile cargo and start the production of methane.

So,the next time you use the term, 'sh!t,' you will be demonstrating your knowledge of little known historical events, technical maritime terms, and the evolution of a unique well-known colloquialism.

Now, you really do know your sh!t!

Re: Bit o' history...

KABOOM!!! was my favorite part!!!

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Posted by wc0143


KABOOM!!! was my favorite part!!!

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Me too.

I am going to see if the know-it-all here at work knows this!

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That's classic!

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Thanks for the lesson!! I say that word alot.... at least I know the meaning behind it...and I am NEVER talking about a ship!!

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Just trying to balance out the classless posts

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That's great! I've never heard that one.

F.U.C.K. has a similar origin... where when the men on the ships were out at sea for loooooong periods of time, and let's just say their 'hormones' would rage. They'd come to land and want to 'screw around' and alot of time they would rape women BUT there was a rule where the Kings sailors were allowed to rape because there was the Fornification Under the Consent of the King rule.
It's pretty terrible, but like I said... similar

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Wow, I feel like I am getting an education here!

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Wow, free education here at LIW!!

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All this and the Webster's definition of SEMINAL ... can't beat that with a stick!

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I love this sh!t

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My know-it-all coworker said that story is a load of sh!t
That the word sh!t was recorded as being used before ships were used?
He is a BIG know-it-all
How wouls you like to work with HIM

Re: Bit o' history...

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Posted by Oinker

My know-it-all coworker said that story is a load of sh!t
That the word sh!t was recorded as being used before ships were used?
He is a BIG know-it-all
How wouls you like to work with HIM

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Uh-oh - looks like your know-it-all might actually know his sh!t. I just looked up 'origin of the word sh!t' in google and this came up:

Well, clever as that all is, etymologists everywhere must be holding their noses right about now. According to my dictionary, the word '****' is much older than the 1800s, appearing in its earliest form — before 1,000 A.D. — as the Old English verb scitan. That's confirmed by lexicographer Hugh Rawson in his bawdily informative book, 'Wicked Words' (New York: Crown, 1989), where it is further noted that the expletive is a distant relative of words like science, schedule and shield. They all derive from the Indo-European root skei-, meaning 'to cut' or 'to split.' For most of its history '****' was spelled 'shite' (and sometimes still is, euphemistically), but the modern spelling of the word can be found in texts dating as far back as the mid-1700s. It most certainly did not originate as an acronym.

Apropos that false premise, Rawson observes that '****' has long been the subject of naughty wordplay, quite often based on made-up acronyms. For example:

In the Army, officers who did not go to West Point have been known to disparage the military academy as the South Hudson Institute of Technology.... And if an angelic six-year-old asks, 'Would you like to have some Sugar Honey Iced Tea?', the safest course is to pretend that you have suddenly gone stone deaf.
And, finally, the 'S.H.I.T.' tale is reminiscent of another popular specimen of folk etymology claiming that the F-word (another good, old-fashioned, all-purpose, four-letter expletive) originated as an acronym of 'Fornication Under Consent of the King,' or, in another variant, 'For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge.' Needless to say, it's all C.R.A.P.

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awwww. and I thought I was so smart!

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Needless to say, it's all C.R.A.P.


LOVE IT!!! But don't anyone tell Farah, she'll be so disappointed

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Posted by wc0143

Needless to say, it's all C.R.A.P.


LOVE IT!!! But don't anyone tell Farah, she'll be so disappointed

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alright, alright, I found your secret posts denying my knowledge!!! But, I still educated you all. If it weren't for me, you would've never even looked up the correct answer...so there!