September 12, 2005

History of Manure

Manure: In the 16th and 17th centuries, everything had to be transported by ship and it was also before the commercial fertilizer’s invention, so large shipments of manure were commonplace.

It was shipped dry, because in dry form it weighed a lot less than when wet, but once water (at sea) hit it, not only did it become heavier, but the process of fermentation began again, of which a by-product is methane gas. As the manure was stored below decks in bundles, it is easy to imagine what could (and did) happen. After that, the bundles of manure were also 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.

This 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.

You probably did not know the true history of this word. Neither did we, we always thought it was a golf term.