At Home Summary

"Home is where history lives." Have you ever wondered how everyday items, customs, and spaces within your house came to be shaped by centuries of human history?

1. Canning Food Was Once a Hazardous Endeavor

In today’s kitchens, cans of food are everywhere, offering convenience and diversity. However, the invention of canned food in the early 1800s came with significant challenges. Francois Appert, a Frenchman, proposed using glass jars to preserve food, which marked an improvement over older, unreliable methods. But air seeped into the jars, contaminating the food over time.

Bryan Donkin later introduced metal cans as a safer alternative. These wrought-iron containers were heavier and exceedingly tough to open. For soldiers, cracking into a meal could involve chisels, bayonets, or even gunfire. It wasn’t until 1925 that the can opener simplified the process and made canned food truly practical.

On top of accessibility issues, food safety was historically a mess. Producers routinely added gypsum, sand, and other impurities to sugar, vinegar, and milk for profit. Today’s government-mandated food standards make these practices almost unthinkable.

Examples

• French soldiers once shot open cans to access rations.
• Early cans required a hammer to open, a process fraught with effort.
• Food industries mixed sugar with sand, showing the lax oversight of the past.

2. America’s Early Homes Were a Problem of Materials

When British colonists arrived in North America, they couldn’t rely on familiar building techniques. Limestone, a common component in Britain’s mud-and-stick homes, wasn’t readily available in the New World. As a result, settlers turned to wood, only to find that timber supplies weren’t abundant either, as forests cleared for hunting had made timber scarce.

To solve this, settlers began using stone, which was abundant but cumbersome to transport. Britain had limestone resources, too, but high costs made stone a luxury for churches and castles rather than ordinary homes. Colonial houses in America eventually employed sturdier, practical designs suited to available materials.

Examples

• North American homesteads initially crumbled without limestone for stability.
• Forest-clearing practices by Native American tribes limited timber supply.
• Britain’s grandest buildings, like monasteries, used 40,000 cartloads of stone.

3. Fickle Fashion Dictated Building Choices

Building with brick wasn’t just about affordability—it followed the whims of style. In eighteenth-century London, builders favored bricks because they could bake clay into bricks close to construction sites, cutting transport expenses entirely. However, the Revolutionary War’s financial toll led Britain to tax bricks in 1784, reducing their popularity.

During this period, stucco became the finish of choice, mimicking stone facades. Even brick homes were often coated or "glazed" with stucco to replicate stone aesthetics. Wealthier homeowners like those at Apsley House built decorative fronts to conceal brickwork, reflecting the changing tastes of the time.

Examples

• Iron-rich clay in London allowed onsite brick-making.
• A brick tax discouraged its use after 1784.
• Stucco or stone facades replaced bricks to suit high-class preferences.

4. Sleeping in the 19th Century Was No Dream

If you’ve ever grumbled about a bad mattress, think again. In the 19th century, beds were stuffed with straw or even sawdust, making them prime habitats for rodents and insects. Mice, rats, and bedbugs often joined people in slumber, creating nightly battles for comfort.

Adding to discomfort, cultural attitudes tethered beds to sexuality, which was viewed as dangerous. Women avoided arousal to prevent alleged harm to unborn children, and men wore devices like the painful Penile Pricking Ring to discourage nocturnal arousal out of fear for their health.

Examples

• 19th-century mattresses included materials like feathers, hair, or sea moss.
• A girl in 1897 kept shoes in bed to fend off rats.
• Men wore anti-masturbation devices to protect their "vital energy."

5. Bathing Evolved from Elegance to Avoidance

For ancient Romans, bathing wasn’t just cleaning—it was socializing. Their bathhouses often doubled as libraries, barbershops, and even entertainment hubs. These communal experiences collapsed during medieval times as Christianity associated dirt with purity. Selecting dirt over baths was even considered a spiritual defense against disease.

The bubonic plague strengthened the belief that bathing opened pores, inviting illness. Medieval society embraced grime, tolerating chronic itching and widespread skin conditions, perpetuating unhygienic living.

Examples

• Roman baths featured libraries and athletic courts for the public.
• Medieval monks like Godric avoided baths for decades in devotion to God.
• The plague deepened misconceptions about bathing and disease.

6. Salt Is Essential—Pepper Is Prestige

Salt is no ordinary seasoning. History is filled with tales of humans traveling, trading, and even warring to secure this essential element for survival. Ancient empires like the Aztecs invented unique ways, such as drying urine, to produce salt. Leaders like England’s Henry VIII often salted meat en masse to showcase abundance.

Pepper, however, gained prominence more as a status symbol than for survival. Romans prized it so highly that they offered 3,000 pounds of pepper to ward off invading Goths. By the fifteenth century, noble events featured pepper displays for luxury rather than necessity.

Examples

• Ancient Aztecs turned urine into edible salt.
• A Roman practice led to the Goths receiving pepper as ransom.
• Duke Karl splurged 380 pounds of pepper to flaunt his wealth at his wedding.

7. Monopoly Games Were Once Scandalous Pastimes

Games played in the home weren’t always innocent. For women in particular, activities like reading or playing board games were seen as provocations for sexual arousal. During the 19th century, society harshly judged any activity tied to sensual stimulation, often ostracizing women who partook.

This bizarre belief extended well into how society regulated behavior in domestic spaces. Games became symbols of moral and ethical decency, policed by popular opinion.

Examples

• Reading was discouraged for pregnant women to prevent harm to the fetus.
• Board games were seen as inappropriate for “respectable” ladies.
• Social controls aimed to suppress human expression in private settings.

8. Ancient Homes Were Full of Dangerous Myths

Home habits remained tied to superstition for centuries. For instance, many believed diseases stemmed from "bad air" rather than poor hygiene, strongly influencing how homes were ventilated. Likewise, windows and doors were often constructed to “trap” bad spirits.

The blending of science and myth shaped early spaces—not always to positive effect. It wasn’t until modern plumbing and sanitation that these homes became safer havens.

Examples

• Medieval homes lacked proper hygiene due to myths about air and disease.
• Architecture like sealed windows aimed to "trap" spirits.
• New plumbing systems in the 19th century revolutionized health indoors.

9. Everyday Household Items Carry Revolutionary Histories

Common items we use today came from extraordinary innovations. Glass jars for food preservation, early forms of insulation, and other household staples emerged gradually over centuries, spurred by necessity rather than comfort.

Even something as simple as cement in house facades revolutionized appearance and durability. These shifts illustrate humans’ ability to persistently improve life within the home.

Examples

• The invention of lighter cans in the 1920s made preserved food more accessible.
• Stucco finishes helped “fake” wealth on homes in the 18th century.
• Glass jar methods gave way to more permanent, safe materials.

Takeaways

1. Take time to understand the everyday tools and materials surrounding you; they carry centuries of history.
2. When solving a problem, consider adapting resources creatively, as early settlers did while building their homes.
3. Appreciate modern conveniences by reflecting on how far innovations like plumbing, food preservation, and hygiene have come.