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“Donkey’s breakfast” was a slang term for uncomfortable straw-filled mattresses used on ships until the 20th century. They were unsanitary and often infested with pests. Straw mattresses were ancient and used until feathers, horsehair, wool, synthetics, and springs were developed. The term “ticking” comes from Middle Dutch. Sailors shared their mattresses and hot-bunked, contributing to the spread of parasites. The straw tick flattened with use, becoming uncomfortable.
In nautical parlance, a “donkey’s breakfast” was the slang term used to describe the straw-filled mattresses used aboard ships until the 20th century. As you can imagine, the straw mattresses weren’t very comfortable, especially at the end of a long journey; it is doubtful that any donkey would have liked to taste the entrails of a sailor’s mattress after an ocean crossing. These uncomfortable and unsanitary mattresses were used during WWII on some parts of ships.
The straw mattress concept is quite ancient. Early humans undoubtedly used straw in their bedding, along with furs and hides for additional padding. Straw-filled mattresses known as straw mints were used everywhere from queens’ bedrooms to shepherds’ cottages until someone had the bright idea of filling a mattress with feathers. Other mattress fillings included horsehair and wool, until synthetics and springs were developed and the modern mattress was born.
Incidentally, the “ticking” in the straw ticking is not a reference to pests, although the straw ticking was undoubtedly home to a large assortment of pests, dust mites and other small visitors. It comes from the Middle Dutch tike, meaning “cloth mattress cover”. Like other straw mattresses, the donkey’s breakfast was prepared by sewing a sturdy canvas cover and then stuffing it with straw. Periodically the straw was discarded and the mattress filled again; sailors usually emptied the donkey’s breakfasts at the end of a voyage.
For most of the history of sailing, breakfast for the awkward ass would be the least of a sailor’s worries. The sailors were confronted with extremely dangerous and sometimes brutal conditions aboard the vessel. They also often shared their coarse straw mints with other men; many ships used a hot-bunking system, in which men who were not on duty slept in beds vacated by men on duty. As you might imagine, this contributed to the spread of parasites like body lice, and a donkey’s breakfast would probably have been itchy in several ways by the end of the trip.
In addition to providing forage for pests, the straw tick flattens as it is used. A donkey’s breakfast would have resembled a straw pancake at the end of a journey, with a thin layer of hard, coarse straw sandwiched between the mattress ticking. In journeys more attentive to comfort and hygiene, the mattresses could be periodically aired and beaten on the deck to refresh them.
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