[viper spray]

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.
>