I read about that a while back. Isn't that interesting? There was a web site that had all those old customs. I wish I could find it again. Charlene Goins, Davis, Smith, Jones, Combs, Perkins, Haley, Bratcher, Gillum, Deaton, Strong, Brock, Callahan, Owens, Harris, Sullyvan, Creekmore. Cope. Williams, Hounshell, Robinson, Crow ,Simpson, Batchlor, Canada, Ballentine, Fugate, Brantly, Place, Ritchie, Pierce, Allen, Brown > >I received this in a forwarded email and thought you all might like to see >it because of our recent discussion of this custom. This is supposed to >have originated in the 1500s. > >Lead cups were used to drink ale or whisky, and the combination of alcohol >and lead could knock people out for a couple of days. Sometimes they were >mistaken for dead and were then prepared for burial. Their families would >place the person in question on the kitchen table for a couple of days and >would gather around, eat, drink, and wait to see if he would eventually >wake up or not - the custom of the "wake." _________________________________________________________________ Express yourself with the new version of MSN Messenger! Download today - it's FREE! http://messenger.msn.click-url.com/go/onm00200471ave/direct/01/