Columbia Pictures Corporation
A swoon is no longer good manners.
- Manners have changed throughout history.
- The Greeks, for example, dined while reclining on beds. Before the Renaissance, tablecloths were used as napkins.
- Today, we have done away with many old-fashioned manners - and in most cases, we're better for it.
You want to come across like a decent, civilized person, right?
Good manners are key.
That being said, it's a fairly common complaint that society has completely lost its grasp on basic manners.
It's a somewhat misguided idea, though. Manners aren't static concepts. Etiquette varies across cultures and sometimes fades away with time.
For example, today, you'd be upset if your friend cleaned their hands on your nice, new tablecloth. But that sort of behavior was perfectly acceptable centuries ago.
Remember that next time you hear someone starting to complain about how people used to have better manners.
Here are some strange old customs that have fallen by the wayside: