For a long period of time, everything had to be transported by ship and it was also before the invention of commercial fertilizers, so large shipments of manure by ships 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 went 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 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.

Now take the first letter of each word --->(Stow High In Transit) and you will find out what word 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.

very good and posh??? portside over starboard hold...usually the smoothest ride in a ship.

Ominivision1 wrote:

I had always thought it was a golf term.

LOL!

Elvis wrote:

very good and posh??? portside over starboard hold...usually the smoothest ride in a ship.

Port out, starboard home.

It harks back to the days of the Raj when travel to India from the UK was invariably by sea.
Cabins on the port side India bound & starboard on the return journey were considerably more expensive as they were shaded from the sun's heat for much of the day & thus the preserve of the more wealthy travellers.

I stand corrected

Let's see. We could extend this thread to "Your turn in the barrel" and "ding [dung] bat".

Anyone up for this?

Bushmaster wrote:

Let's see. We could extend this thread to "Your turn in the barrel" and "ding [dung] bat". Anyone up for this?

...or "looking for the golden rivet". Up for it, not this little black duck.