Good Day DU (December 17, 2021)

[EarlG]

Today in History: December 17

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The Friday Question: What's the most interesting thing you've read, seen, or listened to this week?

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Today's milestones: Congratulations to the following active DU members!

Anniversaries
Jersey Devil (20 years), azureblue (17 years), D_Master81 (9 years), mostlyalurker (9 years), Deuxcents (5 years), cliftoncooper (1 year)

Posting milestones
None today

New members who posted for the first time
YP_Yooper, OKnow, Vic-purria, RandPaulsNeighbor

[Aristus]

1. "Elizabeth's London" by Liza Picard.

A look at the day-to-day lives of ordinary people in Elizabethan England.

Couple of things I didn't know. Despite relentless media depictions of the era as being one of unending muck and filth, many parts of London at the time had clean, safe running water, and strict sanitation regulations (when we hear or read about people throwing garbage and sewage out of windows, it's almost always because they were violating sanitation laws, rather than engaging in a routine activity.)

Social classes are usually depicted as being a tiny group of wealthy people, and then huge numbers of desperately poor peasants. Actually, Elizabethan London had a large, thriving middle class, protected by strong labor, trade, and artisan guilds who ensured fair pay, and in some cases, safe working environments.

Interesting reading, and I haven't even gotten to the Shakespeare stuff yet.