earthdog
Cave Dweller 
Don't eat yellow snow
Member since June 2006
Posts: 2,731
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MANURE
Jan 16, 2007 15:06:05 GMT -5
Post by earthdog on Jan 16, 2007 15:06:05 GMT -5
Manure: In the 16th and 17th centuries, everything had to be transported by ship and 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 by product 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, BOOOOM!
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 term "Ship 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 " , (Ship High In Transport) 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.
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MANURE
Jan 16, 2007 15:16:10 GMT -5
Post by deb193 on Jan 16, 2007 15:16:10 GMT -5
I think this is a myth, because the word is very old. From a debunking website: We could launch into a long, involved discussion of ancient shipping practices, methane production and properties, and Internet leg-pulls, but we'll spare you all that, as the fanciful stories listed can easily be debunked as the product of someone's wild imaginings through linguistic means.
The word shit entered modern English language derived from the Old English nouns scite and the Middle Low German schite, both meaning "dung," and the Old English noun scitte, meaning "diarrhea." Our most treasured cuss word has been with us a long time, showing up in written works both as a noun and as a verb as far back as the 14th century.
Scite can trace its roots back to the proto-Germanic root skit-, which brought us the German scheisse, Dutch schijten, Swedish skita, and Danish skide. Skit- comes from the Indo-European root skheid- for "split, divide, separate," thus shit is distantly related to schism and schist. (If you're wondering what a verb root for the act of separating one thing from another would have to do with excrement, it was in the sense of the body's eliminating its waste — "separating" from it, so to speak. Sort of the opposite of today's "getting one's shit together.")
Barbara "shit disturber" Mikkelson
www.snopes.com/language/acronyms/shit.asp |
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MANURE
Jan 16, 2007 15:33:12 GMT -5
Post by deb193 on Jan 16, 2007 15:33:12 GMT -5
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MANURE
Jan 16, 2007 18:27:52 GMT -5
Post by lonewolfrockhound on Jan 16, 2007 18:27:52 GMT -5
When in history did it start hitting the fan I wonder?  |
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stefan
Cave Dweller
Member since January 2005
Posts: 14,113
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MANURE
Jan 16, 2007 18:52:22 GMT -5
Post by stefan on Jan 16, 2007 18:52:22 GMT -5
or WTF??
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earthdog
Cave Dweller
Don't eat yellow snow
Member since June 2006
Posts: 2,731
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MANURE
Jan 16, 2007 21:25:41 GMT -5
Post by earthdog on Jan 16, 2007 21:25:41 GMT -5
Deb193, ya just screwed up a good story.  I think my story was more interesting..... ;D |
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MANURE
Jan 16, 2007 21:55:18 GMT -5
Post by parfive on Jan 16, 2007 21:55:18 GMT -5
Lonewolf: "When in history did it start hitting the fan I wonder?"
Had to wait for Tommie Edison, unless they were pitchin' it at the guys keepin' the Pharaoh cool.
Rich
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MANURE
Jan 16, 2007 22:42:12 GMT -5
Post by BAZ on Jan 16, 2007 22:42:12 GMT -5
I've heard that story before Earthdog and I like it! I'm always bummed when I look at the de-bunking websites. Like Tip is an acronym for "To Insure Promptness" and the Whole Nine Yards was what the lengths of ammo belts came in and were loaded onto fighters in WWII. After a sortie a pilot would come back and talk about giving the enemy the whole nine yards. Or the word bar (as in tavern) is short for barrier, as in the barrier between the patron and the booze. Raining cats and dogs? I heard it is from the days of grass thatched roofs, animals would climb up to the rafters and into the grass to stay warm. If it rained the grass became slick and it would rain cats and dogs inside the structure. All fun stories but they probably can be bunk or myths!!! |
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MANURE
Jan 17, 2007 13:04:34 GMT -5
Post by cina on Jan 17, 2007 13:04:34 GMT -5
I like the storys too! Just the way they are told |
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spacegold
has rocks in the head
Member since September 2006
Posts: 732
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MANURE
Jan 17, 2007 13:14:47 GMT -5
Post by spacegold on Jan 17, 2007 13:14:47 GMT -5
Is there no end to the useful infomation on this board?  |
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earthdog
Cave Dweller
Don't eat yellow snow
Member since June 2006
Posts: 2,731
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MANURE
Jan 17, 2007 14:41:14 GMT -5
Post by earthdog on Jan 17, 2007 14:41:14 GMT -5
No end! Wait till I really get board from not working. You all will be glad when I get back to work in the spring.  |
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MANURE
Jan 17, 2007 15:17:20 GMT -5
Post by deb193 on Jan 17, 2007 15:17:20 GMT -5
I don't know edog, did I screw it up, or add a dimension. Whether it is true or not, it is an interesting story, knowing whether or not it is true makes it more interesting, knowing how it was determined to be true or false is a story in inself. Thinking about why somehting not true would get traction is also an interesting to contemplate. Naw, I didn;t screw it up at all.
I enjoy the stories, myths, and urban legends because they tell us somethign about how we make sense of the world - what we are likely to think is true. I like finding out which is and is not true, too. This usually tells us something interesting about real origins, or real facts underlying a myth, and more about our minds.
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earthdog
Cave Dweller
Don't eat yellow snow
Member since June 2006
Posts: 2,731
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MANURE
Jan 17, 2007 22:10:08 GMT -5
Post by earthdog on Jan 17, 2007 22:10:08 GMT -5
I'm only giving you some manure, Deb193. I found a "urban dictionary on line, some may not like it though, I think it's funny. www.urbandictionary.com/ |
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