S.H.I.T.

  • 14 years ago

    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.



  • 14 years ago

    lol, I wonder if that's actually true....

    ... if it is, I wonder why the word has come to be a bit of a taboo in modern language? Maybe rather like the spanish verb "coger" in Argentina and the rest of Latin America....!

  • 14 years ago
    Lol, wikepedia to the rescue...



  • 14 years ago

    Ha, Ha, Ha,
    Ah, Word filtering: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shi t Wink [;)]


  • 14 years ago

    Scholars trace the word back to Old Norse origin (skīta), and it is virtually certain that it was used in some form by preliterate Germanic tribes at the time of the Roman Empire. It was originally adopted into Old English as scitte, eventually morphing into Middle English schītte. The word may be further traced to Proto-Germanic *skit-, and ultimately to Proto-Indo-European *skheid-, "split, divide, separate." Conceptually, it refers to that part of the body (the excrement), which is "divided" from the rest of the body. It is related to the verb "to shed" (as in, "to shed one's skin"), "schism", and other words in common English usage. In Ireland the phrase "I'm shitting myself laughing" retains the older pronunciation "I'm skitting myself" but this may be due to more recent euphemisation.
    It's probably a more plausible explanation but then with Wiki you can never be 100%...

    I wrote an article for WP a little while ago, about the band called Souls Rest Wink [;)]

  • 14 years ago

    Heh... I'm sure it isn't historically intact, but I found it rather funny.   Which is a change from the plethora of chain emails I get that go straight to the recycle bin.

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