Rinion
10-02-2006, 12:30 AM
If you are reading this, you must enjoy school. Because I would have just laughed at such a title and passed it by. Any who, I have been researching this because I can. So, laugh it up.
Well, -what- have I been researching, eh? Well, I was wondering where the history of the vulgar word that is usually said to refer to fecal matter. I think we all know it as the 's-word'. I refuse to say it because I am just nice like that. I'm sure many of you would care little of such, but, meh.
Onto the actual history lesson. I have looked over many sources, but few gave me a clear history on the word. The following came from an encyclopedia website:
The word $#!^ (or sometimes $#!^e [to rhyme with bite] in <st1:country-region><st1:place>Scotland</st1:place></st1:country-region> (depending on context), <st1:country-region><st1:place>Ireland</st1:place></st1:country-region>, <st1:place>Northern England</st1:place> and <st1:City><st1:place>Lincolnshire</st1:place></st1:City>), is used by English speakers, but it is considered an obscenity, and thus is usually avoided in formal speech. A less vulgar substitute is crap, which while still impolite and/or emphatic, is not considered obscene. The correct vernacular usage of crap is mostly identical, with certain key exceptions (see below). Many people receive satisfaction from the usage of the word and see it as, subsequently, a good way to relieve stress. Such phrases include Oh $#!^!, or the more polite $#!^-aki Mushrooms!.
Now, I found this information very... boring. So I continued my search. After finding much useless information about the word, I came across something very interesting. I will not cite my sources, for they are less then moral in nature, but the actual history is very interesting indeed.
You see, long ago shipments of manure would be carried on ships over to countries like <st1:place>Asia</st1:place> and such to be sold. Now, the manure itself was not very pleasant in smell, and as such was put at the very bottom of the ship. Well, for those who have seen the bottom of an older ship, you will find that it is very wet. Water finds its way through cracks and into the lower section of the ship.
Well, the sailors gave this little thought. However, the water eventually found it's way into the barrels of manure. After a time, the manure began to ferment, or in other words, rot. Well, as it did this, it would release methane gas. Again, anyone knowing of such gas will know that it is highly explosive. As soon as someone came down to the bottom to get a barrel of rum or such with a lantern or candle, the entire ship would explode from the bottom up.
Now, being the intellectual people they were back then, they managed, after a time, to figure this out. When they did, they put the initials S. H. I. T. on the barrels of manure, which meant Ship High In Transit. In other words, don't put at the bottom of the ship. The sailors then took this on as a word used to describe the manure, or feces in general, and from there it spread.
Now you know. And knowledge is power. Share the good news.
But really, I found this very interesting. And don't look at me as being vulgur or such for looking this up, I was merely curious. Discuss at your whim.
Well, -what- have I been researching, eh? Well, I was wondering where the history of the vulgar word that is usually said to refer to fecal matter. I think we all know it as the 's-word'. I refuse to say it because I am just nice like that. I'm sure many of you would care little of such, but, meh.
Onto the actual history lesson. I have looked over many sources, but few gave me a clear history on the word. The following came from an encyclopedia website:
The word $#!^ (or sometimes $#!^e [to rhyme with bite] in <st1:country-region><st1:place>Scotland</st1:place></st1:country-region> (depending on context), <st1:country-region><st1:place>Ireland</st1:place></st1:country-region>, <st1:place>Northern England</st1:place> and <st1:City><st1:place>Lincolnshire</st1:place></st1:City>), is used by English speakers, but it is considered an obscenity, and thus is usually avoided in formal speech. A less vulgar substitute is crap, which while still impolite and/or emphatic, is not considered obscene. The correct vernacular usage of crap is mostly identical, with certain key exceptions (see below). Many people receive satisfaction from the usage of the word and see it as, subsequently, a good way to relieve stress. Such phrases include Oh $#!^!, or the more polite $#!^-aki Mushrooms!.
Now, I found this information very... boring. So I continued my search. After finding much useless information about the word, I came across something very interesting. I will not cite my sources, for they are less then moral in nature, but the actual history is very interesting indeed.
You see, long ago shipments of manure would be carried on ships over to countries like <st1:place>Asia</st1:place> and such to be sold. Now, the manure itself was not very pleasant in smell, and as such was put at the very bottom of the ship. Well, for those who have seen the bottom of an older ship, you will find that it is very wet. Water finds its way through cracks and into the lower section of the ship.
Well, the sailors gave this little thought. However, the water eventually found it's way into the barrels of manure. After a time, the manure began to ferment, or in other words, rot. Well, as it did this, it would release methane gas. Again, anyone knowing of such gas will know that it is highly explosive. As soon as someone came down to the bottom to get a barrel of rum or such with a lantern or candle, the entire ship would explode from the bottom up.
Now, being the intellectual people they were back then, they managed, after a time, to figure this out. When they did, they put the initials S. H. I. T. on the barrels of manure, which meant Ship High In Transit. In other words, don't put at the bottom of the ship. The sailors then took this on as a word used to describe the manure, or feces in general, and from there it spread.
Now you know. And knowledge is power. Share the good news.
But really, I found this very interesting. And don't look at me as being vulgur or such for looking this up, I was merely curious. Discuss at your whim.