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Related: Culture Forums, Support ForumsDid you Know???
They used to use urine to tan animal skins, so families used to all pee in a pot & then once a day it was taken & sold to the tannery. If you had to do this to survive you were piss poor.
But worse than that were the really poor folk who couldnt even afford to buy a pot; they didnt have a pot to piss in & were the lowest of the low.
And where other sayings have their origins , such as---
Its raining cats and dogs.
Carrying a bouquet when getting married.
dirt poor.
chew the fat.
The upper crust.
The custom of holding a wake.
Saved by the bell or a dead ringer.
http://extragoodshit.phlap.net/did-you-know/
underpants
(182,904 posts)I know that cats and dogs has to do with thatched roofs
soothsayer
(38,601 posts)The Velveteen Ocelot
(115,869 posts)Mostly debunked here: https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/55688/6-widely-repeated-phrase-origins-debunked and here: https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/55503/7-tall-tales-about-life-1500s-and-origins-phrases
Bridal bouquets: https://www.modernwedding.com.au/wedding-traditions-why-brides-carry-a-bouquet/#:~:text=In%20Ancient%20Rome%2C%20brides%20carried,the%20smell%20of%20body%20odour.
Raining cats and dogs: A false theory stated that cats and dogs used to cuddle into thatch roofs during storms and then be washed out during heavy rains. However, a properly maintained thatch roof is naturally water-resistant and slanted to allow water to run off. In order to slip off the roof, the animals would have to be lying on the outsidean unlikely place for an animal to seek shelter during a storm. https://www.loc.gov/everyday-mysteries/item/what-is-the-origin-of-the-phrase-its-raining-cats-and-dogs/
And here are the many reasons why tomatoes were thought to be poisonous: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/why-the-tomato-was-feared-in-europe-for-more-than-200-years-863735/