Your grandparents' Christmas 'gravy boat' could have a gross history

A little-known historical fact has left people horrified and heading to their cupboards to check they've not been using the wrong type of gravy boat during family festivities.

In a TikTok clip that's racked up 800,000 views, Jenna Jones (@_jennasayquoi) said that while she's not "trying to scare anybody," they might want to check whether their gravy boat is the real deal – or an antique that was once used for a very different purpose.

Jenna explained that some of the pots, which look very similar to that of a gravy boat, are called 'bourdaloues' which she described as "little pee catchers for the ladies who could pee in fashion under their dress".

They're also known as "coach pots" and were used in the 18th or 19th century in Europe and America.

Bourdaloues are generally bigger in size and don't have a defined lip for precision pouring as opposed to a gravy boat.

It didn't take long for TikTokers to chime in on the shock revelation, with one writing: "I live in fear of someone thinking a chamber pot is a soup tureen each time I see one in an antique shop."

"I also like that the word bourdaloue is very similar to port-a-loo," a second joked, while a third chimed in: "So. Today I learned my grandmother's 'gravy boat' we used every Thanksgiving was IN FACT not a gravy boat."

Others were horrified to learn they've perhaps used one in the past: "Interesting. I've definitely used one of these at someone's house and thought to myself, 'man this gravy boat sucks,' it doesn't even have a spout for easy pouring. You learn something new every day."

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