The Lead Cup Myth

Some time ago, a popular email hoax spread misinformation about the use of lead cups in the Middle Ages and The Bad Old Days.   Lead cups were used to drink ale or whisky. The combination would sometimes knock them out for a couple of days. Someone walking along the road would take them for dead and prepare them for burial. They were laid out on the kitchen table for a couple of days and the family would gather around and eat and drink and wait and see if they would wake up - hence the custom of holding a wake. The Facts Lead poisoning is a slow, cumulative process and not a fast-acting toxin. Furthermore, pure lead was not used to make drinking vessels. By the 1500s pewter had, at most, 30 percent lead in its makeup.1  Horn, ceramic, gold, silver, glass and even wood were all used to make cups, goblets, jugs, flagons, tankards, bowls and other items to hold liquid. In less formal situations, people would forgo individual cups and drink straight from the jug, which was usually ceramic. Those who overindulged in liquor--to the point of unconsciousness--generally recovered within a day. The consumption of alcohol was a popular pastime, and coroners records are filled with reports of accidents--both minor and fatal--that occurred to the inebriated. Although it was difficult for people in the 16th century to define death, proof of life could typically be determined by whether or not the person was breathing. It was never necessary to lay out hung-over carousers on the kitchen table and wait to see if they woke up--especially since poorer folk often had neither kitchens nor permanent tables. The custom of holding a wake goes back much further than the 1500s. In Britain,  wakes  appear to have origins in Celtic custom, and was a watch over the recently-deceased that may have been intended to protect his body from evil spirits. The Anglo-Saxons called it a lich-wake from the Old English lic, a corpse. When Christianity came to England, prayer was added to the vigil.2 Over time, the event took on a social character, where family and friends of the deceased would gather to bid them farewell and enjoy food and drink in the process. The Church tried to discourage this,3 but the celebration of life in the face of death is not something humans easily relinquish. Notes: 1. pewter   Encyclopà ¦dia Britannica  Accessed April 4, 2002]. 2. wake  Encyclopà ¦dia Britannica[Accessed April 13, 2002]. 3. Hanawalt, Barbara, The Ties that Bound: Peasant Families in Medieval England (Oxford University Press, 1986), p. 240. The text of this document is copyright  ©2002-2015 Melissa Snell. You may download or print this document for personal or school use, as long as the URL below is included. Permission is not granted to reproduce this document on another website.

Essay on Human Behaviour and Social Norms - 1593 Words

Running head: HUMAN BEHAVIOUR AND SOCIAL NORMS Do social norms influence human behaviour? Human behaviour is the response to given stimuli, which are socially and environmentally affected. This response is something that can easily be influenced and shaped through many personal, situational, social, biological, mental factors. In this essay the case of social norms influencing human behaviour will be analyzed using previous studies. Social norms are part of a larger influential scale generally named as social influence. Social influence is the exercise of power that an individual or a group can use on other individuals or society in order to alter their attitudes, behaviours and lead them to a desired†¦show more content†¦Group size is important because as Asch (1955) found, the larger the group, the bigger the phenomenon of conformity due to social norms. Group cohesiveness makes the group to have greater bonds due to similarity and ability to easily show empathy to each other (Christensen et al., 2004) and social support is noticed to groups with higher levels of cohesiveness and bonding. On the other hand, there are personal factors affecting the type of conformity such as self-awareness (ability to understand own self), self-presentation (try to present ideal self in order to conform), personal control (desire to feel that one has control, as a human right, over particular situations) and gender (gender differences- women are more likely to conform) (Franzoi, 2009). Based on all the previously referred material, conformity is totally driven by social norms, norms that are not written but sometimes are more powerful than law; the way that a person conforms to society affects the level and type of his compliance to society’s requests. For example, if a person has as personal characteristic not to like altering his self-image/ presentation based on society’s preferences due to his intense belief in independence, it is possible that this person will comply more difficult because of external motivation instead of internal. On the other hand, this means that if a person has an internal compliance only to smile to people who knows and not toShow MoreRelated Social Norms1709 Words   |  7 PagesDeviance is a title that insinuates the violation of social norms in society. This can be described as adjacent to criminal and improper behaviour imposed by the people who break the social norms of a society. Thus, becoming subjective to a label of deviant. Deviants often have punishment bestowed upon them by authoritive figures such as the enforcers of law. 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The Crucible Diary Free Essays

I cannot believe that John Proctor! Why has he chosen his sniveling wife over me? I am more of a woman than Goody Proctor. Goody Proctor does possess of the qualities needed of a good wife. She is naà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ve, simple, and talented. We will write a custom essay sample on The Crucible Diary or any similar topic only for you Order Now However, I possess the qualities of a lover. I am intelligent, able, and adventurous. To be blatantly honest, I think any man would be lucky to call me his wife. Diary, why am I good enough for any man, but I am not good enough for the man I desire? I know why. It is because I want a married man. Diary, do you agree that John should leave Goody Proctor and marry me? Do you think I am better than she is? I believe I would be a much better wife. Think about it, if Goody Proctor were good to John would he have come to me? I do not believe so. To me, it is the duty of a wife to keep her husband satisfied and in line. However, if John had not strayed from his wife, John would have never sought me. If John had never sought me, I would have never felt love. John may have sought me, but he is still married to Goody Proctor. She is keeping me from my John. Because of that, I loathe her. There is not a single thing in the world that she can do that I cannot. She can cook, clean, and pray. I can do all that, and even more! I am willing to do anything to be with my John. All I want is to be with him. Diary, do you have any ideas to cause the end of the Proctor marriage? I believe I do. I will receive vengeance on Goody Proctor. I will claim that Goody Proctor is a witch! It is a brilliant idea. When Salem village hears of this, the village people will believe it and order her hanging. It is genius! I would be overcome with joy to see the body of Goody Proctor hanging. At last, I would be with my beloved John! Oh Diary, I know it is a terrible to wish death upon someone, but in this case, Goody Proctor’s death is necessary in order for John and me to be together. Diary, I need to be with John. He loves me and I love him. I know we are destined to be with one another. Diary, I thank you for listening to me. You have always been a faithful friend. Besides John, no one seems to want to listen to me, Oh, how I miss my John! Oh no, I fear Uncle has arrived home. I must go. He will be expecting me. I promise I will write again soon. Love, Abbey How to cite The Crucible Diary, Papers