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<TITLE> Cassell Everyday Phrases</TITLE>
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It's Bedlam
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This phrase is used to describe any chaotic scene, or state of affairs, which results in disorder and ends in a turmoil. Its origin is anything but pleasant and is associated with Hospital of ST MARY of Bethlehem - London, which was founded in 1247 as a priory and converted 300 years later into lunatic asylum. When extra revenue was needed for upkeep, a tragic error was made in deciding to raise monies by charging members of public 2 pence each admission as sightseers. Although
400 pounds was obtained in this way from thousand of visitors each year, sightseers were never taken on conducted tours but allowed, instead, to wander at will. Result was that many ridiculed the patients.
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The word "patients" became unfortunate for 'Bedlam' as hospital was known, was a place of detention without any treatement correctly available to inmates. Keepers were worse than sightseers and made a habit of beating, chaining and starving them.
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Proper care and humane treatment of people having mental disorders was never coming up into hospitals and similar institutions until 19 th century - and even to this day there is still a lot understood by both public at large and medical profession rergading taking serious exchanged conducts bewtween right world and wrong world.
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