History of Victorian England
In late Victorian London, poverty was so widespread that even sleep came at a cost. One of the cheapest forms of shelter for the homeless was the "four-penny coffin," a wooden box where a person could lie down for the night, often covered with nothing more than a tarpaulin. For those who couldn't afford even that, a two-penny alternative existed: a bench and a rope stretched across the chest to keep a person upright as they slept. This grim arrangement came to be known as the "two-penny hangover"—a haunting image of hardship and endurance in a time when survival itself was a nightly struggle. Despite popular belief, the term "hangover" did not originate from this rope-sleeping practice. While it makes for a compelling tale, linguistic research shows that the word originally referred to the lingering effects of something left unfinished-such as unresolved business from a meeting. It wasn't until the early 20th century, around 1904, that "hang...