GC15VBR Nursery Rhymes 101 #2 (Traditional Cache) in Utah, United States created by TyOcci

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GC15VBR ▼

A cache by TyOcci Message this owner

Hidden : 9/9/2007

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Size: Size: micro (micro)

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***Congratulation to Corb24 for the FTF***Flat walk to location. There is a surprise rolled in the log for the FTF!

The Secret History of the Nursery Rhyme!
Many of the origins of the humble nursery rhyme are believed to be associated with, or reflect, actual events in history! The secret meanings of the Nursery Rhyme have been lost in the passing of time. A nursery rhyme was often used to parody the royal and political events and people of the day. The humble Rhyme was used as a seemingly innocent vehicle to quickly spread subversive messages!

Ring Around the Rosy Rhyme

Connections to the Bubonic Plague (Black Death)?
The words to the Ring around the rosy children's ring game have their origin in English history. The historical period dates back to the Great Plague of London in 1665 (bubonic plague) or even before when the first outbreak of the Plague hit England in the 1300's. The symptoms of the plague included a rosy red rash in the shape of a ring on the skin (Ring around the rosy). Pockets and pouches were filled with sweet smelling herbs (or posies) which were carried due to the belief that the disease was transmitted by bad smells. The term "Ashes Ashes" refers to the cremation of the dead bodies! The death rate was over 60% and the plague was only halted by the Great Fire of London in 1666 which killed the RATS which carried the disease which was transmitting via water sources. The English version of "Ring around the rosy" replaces Ashes with (A-tishoo, A-tishoo) as violent sneezing was another symptom of the disease.

Views of the Sceptics
The connection between this Rhyme was made by James Leasor in 1961 in his non-fiction book ' The Plague and the Fire. Some people are skeptical of the plague interpretations of this rhyme, many stating that words in the rhyme cannot be found in Middle English. The skeptics must be referring to the later version of the rhyme, possibly with American origins, the English version is "Ring a ring o' rosies" using the Middle English "o" as a shortening of the word "of". The written word “posies" is first mentioned in a poem called 'Prothalamion or A Spousal Verse' by Edmund Spenser (1552-1599). Some believe this addresses the views of the skeptics.
I hope you enjoyed lesson # 2, more to follow!

Additional Hints (Decrypt)

Rznvy zr sbe uvag vs lbh pnaabg svaq ba lbhe 1fg gel :]

Decryption Key

A|B|C|D|E|F|G|H|I|J|K|L|M
-------------------------
N|O|P|Q|R|S|T|U|V|W|X|Y|Z

(letter above equals below, and vice versa)

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Nursery Rhymes 101 #2 Traditional Geocache

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