The very daft Tommy Farriner accidentally set fire to his bakery and then the rest of London in 1666. This all happened in the now infamous Pudding Lane. Pudding is apparently the medieval word for - wait for it - guts and entrails. The lane was thus named for the 'puddings' which would fall from the carts coming down the lane from the butchers in Eastcheap as they headed for the waste barges on the Thames.
Here's a jolly little English fire truck from 1934. (Yes, I'm trying to take your mind off the rather repugnant (yet interesting) etymology tidbit:) Cheers!
19 cool cats commented:
How big is this fire truck?
Very interesting facts. LOVE it. =D
It is a rather small fire engine! Good things come in small packages I suppose:)
Ewwwwwww...there goes my love of pudding pops. lol ;)
I know! I don't really understand how the word evolved into something so yummy! Did Bill Cosby know about this when he was hawking Jello pudding?
You always know the most interesting factoids!
... fall from the carts??? I'm glad I finished lunch BEFORE visualizing this little tidbit!
Evelyn in Montreal
Eww. I'll never think of pudding the same way again!
Cute fire truck.
I love these interesting facts you always share. Who knew that 'pudding' had such a yucky past. Leave it to the English to eat something disgusting.
So much for the good old days! I don't care what the origins of the word, chocolate pudding -- wait a minute, chocolate anything wins hands down -- is still my favorite.
Eastcheap has a Wikipedia page, and apparently a cheap was a market.
Love the postcard, not so much the news of puddings.
I'm with Maggi...next time I have pudding hope this thought doesn't come to mind.
Funny and interesting post anyway...enjoyed it ;-/
What interesting facts. And disgusting. I can't even imagine what the lane smelled like! Hopefully it smelled better after the fire.
We live near a Pudding Lane, not THAT one, but an old one. I will never look on it in the same way. The Royal Mail has a series of stamps featuring the emergency services at the moment.
Well, pudding now to me will never be the same.
Ew...Pudding takes on a whole other light!
and nice try getting our minds to forget that nifty fact! haha
Blessings & Aloha!
1666 is one of those years I remember from the history books, even as an American. Love the truck.
I have been reading your blogs. I noticed that you really love to share some history facts. Thank you for sharing it with us.
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