 Samsquanch
Male, 30-39, Canada
 794 Posts
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Wednesday, May 18, 2011 3:49:27 AM
"Sing a song of six pence" is about the plague as well as "Ring around the rosie".
The cost of removing a plague-ridden body from a house hold was six pence.
Those who suffered from the plague would carry rye flowers in their pockets to cover the odour of the plague.
The black birds are reference to the "doctors" who did strange things to stem off the plague (they wore masks with charcoal as air filters...like gas masks, which gave them the appearance of birds, also where the term "quack" for doctor comes from).
The Pie was a nickname for the commoner section of London.
And, while the common people were dying with the plague, and the city was burning, the peasants believed that the royals had nothing better to do than count money and eat honey.
The maid's nose being "snipped off" is a reference to the sentiments of the people that the plague would ravage the royal family as well. |
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 BexyWexy
Female, 30-39, Europe
64 Posts
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Wednesday, May 18, 2011 12:55:47 AM
Humpty Dumpty is claimed to be many things, so to say it's definitely about a cannon in the English civil war holds about as much water as the original claim of the king does. Along side those two, are claims it was a clumsy person (hence falling off a wall) or that it was an alcoholic drink.
There's no proof either way, just conjecture, as is with most of the nursery rhymes out there. |
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 LordJim
Male, 50-59, Europe
2410 Posts
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Tuesday, May 17, 2011 11:02:40 AM
So many of those were just plain wrong. I almost expected the article to claim that 'Sing a Song of Sixpence' was a pirate code. |
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 RobSwindol
Male, 30-39, Southern US
2035 Posts
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Tuesday, May 17, 2011 4:33:47 AM
I didn't take the time to read the entire article for the simple fact that the first one was so incorrect.
Humpty Dumpty wasn't about a King falling off his horse. That wouldn't even make sense. The rhyme doesn't say "Humpty Dumpty sat on a horse", but "on a wall".
Humpty Dumpty was, in fact, a large cannon used during the English Civil War. A cannon that happened to be positioned where? ON A WALL! And the rhyme is about the cannon being crippled during battle. When the King ordered his men to repair the cannon, it was found to be irreparable and was decommissioned. |
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 handys003
Male, 50-59, Western US
2402 Posts
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Monday, May 16, 2011 8:26:37 PM
@krisley
There's so many of them your right. It was Mother Goose yeah I f... her
Ohhhh!!!!!
Long live the Diceman |
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 krisley
Male, 18-29, Midwest US
522 Posts
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Monday, May 16, 2011 7:07:07 PM
@Handys, I thought it was: There was an old lady, who lived in a shoe. She had so many kids, her uterus fell out. |
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handys003
Male, 50-59, Western US
2402 Posts
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Monday, May 16, 2011 6:31:50 PM
Jack and Jill went up the hill both with a buck and a quarter. Jill came down with two fifty. Ohhhhh!!!!
Jack be nimble, Jack be quick. jack burned off his di....
Ohhhhh!!!!1
Mother Goose she had so many kids her uterus fell out.
Ohhhhhh!!!!
Long live the Diceman. |
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 moefreak
Female, 18-29, Europe
1969 Posts
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Monday, May 16, 2011 5:14:22 PM
Considering that the ring around the rosie one has been shown to be very unlikely, I doubt the rest are true either. |
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 Fatninja01
Male, 18-29, Australia
23995 Posts
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Monday, May 16, 2011 4:00:29 PM
lamest to the max |
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 faustsshadow
Male, 30-39, Midwest US
350 Posts
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Monday, May 16, 2011 3:20:50 PM
Lame. |
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 CrakrJak
Male, 40-49, Midwest US
14374 Posts
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Monday, May 16, 2011 2:53:04 PM
These 6 are some of the rather tame ones, There are others. And yes the origins of these are true. |
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 xCYBERDYNEx
Male, 18-29, Southern US
4798 Posts
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Monday, May 16, 2011 2:19:41 PM
prolly bullshyte |
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 danthew
Male, 18-29, Europe
2137 Posts
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Monday, May 16, 2011 2:16:22 PM
These are all balls. Crappy wannabe Cracked article. |
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Angilion
Male, 40-49, Europe
9542 Posts
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Monday, May 16, 2011 1:37:02 PM
Are *any* of those true? |
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 malikymoo
Female, 18-29, Europe
1945 Posts
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Monday, May 16, 2011 1:19:49 PM
these are myths! watch QI! |
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 Garu
Male, 30-39, Eastern US
564 Posts
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Monday, May 16, 2011 1:11:19 PM
"and people get half the words wrong anyone." Well said, sir. I thought it was a neat little read even if people say they're not accurate. I mean the Bible would be better for tracking down the facts, don't you think? |
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 McMatthewL
Male, 13-17, Europe
110 Posts
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Monday, May 16, 2011 12:37:18 PM
This was pretty badly researched. Humpty Dumpty was a cannon, and the ring around the rosy is a myth. The earliest recorded version of the rhyme was in 1790 in Massachusetts, which was 'Ring around the rosie, A bottle full of posie, All the girls in our town, Ring for little Josie.' |
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 5Cats
Male, 40-49, Canada
16939 Posts
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Monday, May 16, 2011 12:23:14 PM
I knew a couple of those.
"There was a crooked man, he walked a crooked mile" is based on a real-life event in British Parliment. |
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vizz
Male, 18-29, Midwest US
48 Posts
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Monday, May 16, 2011 12:05:27 PM
Humpty Dumpty was actually a cannon. Look it up. |
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 Tubby12370
Male, 18-29, Midwest US
1369 Posts
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Monday, May 16, 2011 11:20:34 AM
The Humpty Dumpty pic, is what made me read the rest. |
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 kitteh9lives
Female, 40-49, Eastern US
977 Posts
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Sunday, May 15, 2011 10:32:10 PM
Link: 6 Creepy Facts About Mother Goose Rhymes [Rate Link] - The origins of some Mother Goose rhymes are really creepy. How many did you know were based on true stories? |
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