Waterways and Barges

A couple of hundered years ago, it was quite common to use human urine to treat material in the textile industry. This was collected from villiges where a urine vat was kept at the end of each street. Once a week some individual would collect the vat and take it to a central collection port. Here gallons of the stuff would be loaded onto barges or narrow boats and transported the urine to textile areas. Over time, those charged with transporting urine became prosperous and mixed in high society. However, in their new found elevated status, it was deemed unseemly to admit the genesis of their wealth. Instead of being carriers of urine, many of them would only admit to carrying wine. All was well until their social graces, (or, more usually the lack of them) or the constant smell meant that high society doubted the wine story and instead accused them of "taking the pizz".

This story has some basis of truth! Strong alkalies such as caustic soda and weak acids such as acetic acid,the main constituent of vinegar are still used in the treatment of textiles in bleaching,for example.As there wasn't much acetic around a couple of hundred years ago,uric acid would have made a good neutralizer! What this has got to do with the glories of Salou,God knows!