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How was my day? Let me tell you....

Tuesday, August 29, 2006

Inquiring minds want to know....

Just in case you were as curious as me.

Manure: In the 16th and 17th centuries, everything had to be transported by ship and it was also before commercial fertilizers 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.

(This little tidbit of interesting information forwarded to my by one of the business managers upon hearing me curse out loud.)

3 Comments:

Blogger tsduff said...

Don't know if I believe that tall tale or not...not a bad story though - as good as anything I'd come up with :-D

12:45 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

If that is true I'll eat the stuff LOL!!

Bytheway disregard the above sentence. I don't know what came over me :D

1:55 PM  
Blogger :P fuzzbox said...

That's some cool shit.

10:35 PM  

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