Manure... An interesting fact

Manure... An interesting fact
Manure : In the 16th and 17th centuries, everything had to be transported by ship and it was also before the invention of commercial fertilizers, so large shipments of manure were quite common.



It was shipped dry, because in dry form it weighed a lot less than when wet, but once water (at sea) hit it, not only did it become heavier, but the process of fermentation began again, of which a by product is methane gas of course. 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, BOOOOM!:blowup:


Several ships were destroyed in this manner before it was determined just what was happening

After that, the bundles of manure were always stamped with the instruction ' Stow high in transit ' on them, 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 ' S.H.I.T ' , (Stow High In Transit) 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 thought it had to do something with workshop mishaps????

Its as interesting as "cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey."

Also citrus has to be well ventilated so as not to blow the ship up.

:wink:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by A Duke

Its as interesting as "cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey."

Also citrus has to be well ventilated so as not to blow the ship up.

:wink:

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or as dad used to say..."cold enough to freeze the walls off a bark humpy".
:;

Peter

<dl><dt class="highlight">sh*t (v.)
</dt><dd class="highlight">Old English scitan, from Proto-Germanic *skit- (cf. North Frisian skitj, Dutch schijten, German scheissen), from PIE *skei- "to cut, split, divide, separate" (see shed (v.)). The notion is of "separation" from the body (cf. Latin excrementum, from excernere "to separate," Old English scearn "dung, muck," from scieran "to cut, shear;" see sharn). It is thus a cousin to science and conscience.

Like pom, the supposed acronym derivation is false.
</dd></dl>

now that's how to destroy a good story with facts Mr splinter shame on you:D
Still good for a giggle
Pete

And I thought it related to "Special High Intensity Training" in both the management jargon and Phys Ed contexts,

Lantern what about all those old sailors smoking their pipes :roll: along with the fumes and ......gives new meaning to internal combustion.