PLEASE dont take this offensively, I thought it VERY interesting! So many 'slang' words we use today had TOTALLY DIFFERENT meanings back then.....I know another story abt another word too.....yep, guess..starts with an 'f' and it meant 'to strike the ground'....many of our slang words used today began with the Barbaric conquering Anglo Saxons. Ship High in Transit In the 16th and 17th centuries, everything was transported by ship. It was also before commercial fertilizer's invention, so large shipments of manure were common. In dry form it weighed a lot less than when wet, but once water (at sea) hit it, it not only became heavier, 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 "S.H.I.T" on them, which meant to the sailors to "Ship High In Transit." In other words, 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. Now....I would not doubt, some of our ancestors were on these ships that blew up...never to be heard from or documentated again! _________________________________________________________________ Help STOP SPAM with the new MSN 8 and get 2 months FREE* http://join.msn.com/?page=features/junkmail