Manure : In the 16th and 17th centuries, everything
had to be transported by ship and it was also before
the invention of commercial fertilizers, so large
shipments of manure were quite common.
It was shipped dry, because in dry form it weighed a
lot less than when wet, but once water (at sea) hit it,
not only did it become heavier, but the process of
fermentation began again, of which a by product is
methane gas of course.
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, BOOM!
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 instruction ' Stow high in transit ' on them, which
meant for the sailors to stow it 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.
Thus evolved the term ' S.H.I.T ', (Stow High In Transit)
which has come down through the centuries and is in
use to this very day.
You probably did not know the true history of this word.
Neither did I, .....I had always thought it was a golf term
