S.H.I.T a shipping term...no really, it was

saltyfish922 · 09-25-2004, 05:03 AM

Manure: In the 16th and 17th centuries, everything had to be
transported by ship and it was also before commercial fertilizer's
invention, so large shipments of manure were common. It was shipped
dry, because in dry form it weighed a lot less than when wet, but once
water (at sea) hit it, it not only became heavier, but the process of
fermentation began again, of which a by product is methane gas.
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, BOOOOM! 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 term
"Ship 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 ," (Ship High In Transport) 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.I had always
thought it was a golf term.