From: John Stewart-Smith (micdunn@ev1.net)
Date: Sat Mar 06 2004 - 17:35:05 PST
> No offense to anyone...wonder where the "bloody limey" thing came from?
> Fred Martin
>
I'm qualified to answer that one!
I'm a dual national, both limey and yank. Served in both countries
militaries also.
Back when all navies used sail, not steam, a common occurrence was for a
ship to be becalmed. No wind equals no movement. As long as you had enough
food and water, you could survive many days and weeks on board. However,
when the water got stagnant and the food was no longer fresh, the problem of
disease appeared. The dreaded scurvy! Gums would rot, teeth and hair would
fall out. Generally one's health would deteriorate to the point of death
(after many months)
The British discovered that a daily dose of vitamin C completely warded
scurvy off.
By mandate, the Royal Navy carried barrels of lemons and limes on long trips
and each crewmember was required to eat one a day.
The Yanks at that time were not world travelers, but preferred to remain in
sight of the coastline. The US Navy rarely encountered scurvy. American
sailors thought it hilarious to see British sailors eating limes, and
soundly ridiculed them.
The name "Limey" has stuck since then.
-Sarge
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