Manure ... An interesting fact
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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.
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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!
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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.
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Thus evolved the term ' S.H..I.T ' , (Ship High In
Transit) which has come down through the centuries and
is in use to this very day.
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You probably did not know the true history of this
word.
