Pure Shit?

[peristaltor]

Many words have meanings commonly accepted today but of unknown origin. I may have stumbled upon one such: pure.

For example, look at the Online Etymology Dictionary's take on "purify":

c.1300, "free from spiritual pollution," from O.Fr. purifier (12c.), from L. purificare "to make pure," from purus "pure" (see pure) + root of facere "to make

Comments

[alobar]

Many years ago I was told by one of my college profs that in England certain dogs were bred and propagated for the sole reason that their turds did a better job of removing hair from animal hides.

[peristaltor]

Pure breeds?

At first I laughed at the term. Now that I think about it, maybe that's where they got the term in the first place!

[beachofdreams]

The obvious question is, what did they use to wash the shit from the skin? You can't just 'hang it up to dry', for shit does not evaporate. (Does it?)

[peristaltor]

Sure, most of it does. Dogs have very low fiber diets, as compared to, say, cows. Fibers won't evaporate, but the active ingredients will, probably leaving a thin crust behind if anything.

After that, a simple wash with oils should rinse the skin.