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"Mud brushing" their skirts for hours. Ah, the things we are convinced to do from a social expectation standpoint. In terms of what she saw on the streets of Lo
by LanceJones 4y ago
"Mud brushing" their skirts for hours. Ah, the things we are convinced to do from a social expectation standpoint. In terms of what she saw on the streets of London -- mud and fog -- my understanding is that London rarely sees fog, and that "fog" in the 1890s was actually smog.
- walrus01 4y agoa large part of the "Mud" was almost certainly horse waste, one of the same reasons why traditional new york brownstone townhouses have their entrance up a set of stairs.
- euroderf 4y agoBrown stone indeed.
- thriftwy 4y agoMoscow had mud on the streets as late as early 2000s. Turns out, only with careful urban planning can you make sure that soil is undisturbed and any extra water gets into drainage. By default you will get mud on the streets in wet climates (and dust in more arid ones).
- arethuza 4y agoWhere I used to live in the New Town of Edinburgh there was a boot scraper built into the stone just to the side of the front door. NB The New Town is quite old, but not as old as the Old Town :-) https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/728/ https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/728/
- Neil44 4y agoI thought about the smog too. Probably from the coal fires, gas lamps and the like. And now we’re worrying about dust from tyres! Things move on eh.
- jmkd 4y ago> Ah, the things we are convinced to do from a social expectation standpoint. Shopping for new clothes for hours because our perfectly serviceable old ones are less fashionable. Cleaning sneakers for hours to ensure our streetwear look is on point. Queueing up for hours to take selfies at an influencer hotspot. etc
- antonchekhov 4y agoI believe London referred to as the "The Big Smoke" in Victorian times, due to the pollution from coal fires - people could see the near-permanent dark cloud over the city from several dozens of miles away.