Manure... An interesting fact

[Lannie]

Manure... An interesting fact: 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.

You probably did not know the true history of this word.

Neither did I.

I had always thought it was a softball coaches term when a stud pitcher took the mound against their team !

[SnocatzDad]

Neither did I.

I had always thought it was a softball coaches term when a stud pitcher took the mound against their team !

As is "She's Hurling and I'm Terrified"

[Busted Shins]

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.

Sounds like BS to me.....

[Whizzer86]

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.

Sh*t, I looked forward to using this, now clean, word more in everyday conversation but found out it's not true!

False etymology:
A popular belief is that the word shit originated as an acronym for "Ship High In Transit", referring to the apparent need to stow manure well above the water line when transporting it by ship. This has been shown to be a myth.[2][3]

Although I do love this possibility:

"The expression [the shit hits the fan] is related to, and may well derive from, an old joke. A man in a crowded bar needed to defecate but couldn't find a bathroom, so he went upstairs and used a hole in the floor. Returning, he found everyone had gone except the bartender, who was cowering behind the bar. When the man asked what had happened, the bartender replied, 'Where were you when the shit hit the fan?' " [Hugh Rawson, "Wicked Words," 1989]

[Lannie]

Lannie wrote:

Neither did I.

I had always thought it was a softball coaches term when a stud pitcher took the mound against their team !



As is "She's Hurling and I'm Terrified"

The acronym theory of the origin of shit can't explain the related words in other languages, such as German Scheiss, Dutch schijt, Old Norse skita, and Lithuanian sikti, which come from the same prehistoric root. As far as I know, there's no corresponding acronym to "ship high in transit" in the merchant marine history of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.

So, I stand corrected........ I think it means....... The noun is attested from the 16th century, both in reference to excrement and to contemptible people. AKA: Umpires

[GSB]

Lannie wrote:

Neither did I.

I had always thought it was a softball coaches term when a stud pitcher took the mound against their team !



As is "She's Hurling and I'm Terrified"

The acronym theory of the origin of shit can't explain the related words in other languages, such as German Scheiss, Dutch schijt, Old Norse skita, and Lithuanian sikti, which come from the same prehistoric root. As far as I know, there's no corresponding acronym to "ship high in transit" in the merchant marine history of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.

So, I stand corrected........ I think it means....... The noun is attested from the 16th century, both in reference to excrement and to contemptible people. AKA: Umpires

Are you saying you were full of S. H. I. T. ?

[GIMNEPIWO]

You are all barking up the wrong tree ... no pun intended ... the word SHIT comes from the tree 'Shittah' .... a tree of unknown origin, but probably from the family of Acacia whose wood was used in the construction of the first primative outhouses ... chosen because of it's durability and rot resistence ... hence the origin of the phrase 'I have to use the shit*ter ( shittah ) ... and of course, what would you do in the shittah but 'take a sh*t' ...

[Dugout Dad]

The S.H.I.T. topic has been covered on the bucket already.

http://www.heybucket.com/viewtopic.php?f=612&t=5108

[Lannie]

Are you saying you were full of S. H. I. T. ?

Well, yeah I guess I am......... My wife reminds me daily that I am