Squid
09-20-2013, 02:46 PM
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!
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 had always thought it was a golf term.
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!
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 had always thought it was a golf term.