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.
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 golf term
