10 Truly Disgusting Facts About Ancient Roman Life

[brassmonkey]

People Washed Their Mouths Out With Urine


In ancient Rome, pee was such big business that the government had special taxes in place just for urine sales. There were people who made their living just from collecting urine. Some would gather it at public urinals. Others went door-to-door with a big vat and asked people to fill it up.

The ways they used it are the last ones you'd expect. For example, they'd clean their clothes in pee. Workers would fill a tub full of clothing and pee, and then one poor soul would be sent in to stomp all over the clothing to wash it out.

Which is nothing compared to how they cleaned their teeth. In some areas, people used urine as a mouthwash, which they claimed kept their teeth shining white. In fact, there's a Roman poem that survives today in which a poet mocks his clean-toothed enemy by saying, "The fact that your teeth are so polished just shows you're the more full of piss."


Toilets Regularly Exploded


When you entered a Roman toilet, there was a very real risk you would die.

The first problem was that creatures living in the sewage system would crawl up and bite people while they did their business. Worse than that, though, was the methane buildup-which sometimes got so bad that it would ignite and explode underneath you.

Toilets were so dangerous that people resorted to magic to try to stay alive. Magical spells meant to keep demons at bay have been found on the walls of bathrooms. Some, though, came pre-equipped with statues of Fortuna, the goddess of luck, guarding them. People would pray to Fortuna before stepping inside.

Romans Vomited So They Could Keep Eating


Romans took excess to new levels. According to Seneca, Romans at banquets would eat until they couldn't anymore-and then vomit so that they could keep eating.

Some people threw up into bowls that they kept around the table, but others didn't let themselves get so caught up in the formalities. In some homes, people would just throw up right there on the floor and go back to eating.

The slaves are the people you really need to feel sorry for, though. Their jobs were terrible. In the words of Seneca: "When we recline at a banquet, one [slave] wipes up the spittle; another, situated beneath, collects the leavings [vomit] of the drunks."

Charioteers Drank An Energy Drink Made Of Goat Dung



Romans didn't have Band-Aids, so they found another way to patch up wounds. According to Pliny the Elder, people in Rome patched up their scrapes and wounds with goat dung. Pliny wrote that the best goat dung was collected during the spring and dried but that fresh goat dung would do the trick "in an emergency."

That's an attractive image, but it's hardly the worst way Romans used goat dung. Charioteers drank it for energy. They either boiled goat dung in vinegar or ground it into a power and mixed it into their drinks. They drank it for a little boost when they were exhausted.

This wasn't even a poor man's solution. According to Pliny, nobody loved to drink goat dung more than Emperor Nero himself.

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[blackmonsters]

Sounds like a bunch of bullshit to me.
That people that smart would wash their clothes is piss is complete bullshit.
And with all the fat motherfuckers in America, we don't even have one that will vomit to eat more pizza.

Bullshit.

[Manfap]

Originally Posted by blackmonsters

Sounds like a bunch of bullshit to me.
That people that smart would wash their clothes is piss is complete bullshit.

Bullshit.

Amonia is still used to wash clothes today.

[DrJsn]

Originally Posted by blackmonsters

Sounds like a bunch of bullshit to me.
That people that smart would wash their clothes is piss is complete bullshit.
And with all the fat motherfuckers in America, we don't even have one that will vomit to eat more pizza.

Bullshit.

I don't know about the other stuff, but the urine stuff is true. The urea is urine breaks down into ammonia. And that is used for cleaning.

[astronaut x]

Its all true.

[NoWhErE]

Originally Posted by blackmonsters

Sounds like a bunch of bullshit to me.
That people that smart would wash their clothes is piss is complete bullshit.
And with all the fat motherfuckers in America, we don't even have one that will vomit to eat more pizza.

Bullshit.

The banquet part is true. Its something that many cultures practiced. The French used to have vomitoriums where people could go during banquets to throw up and then return to the feast.

True feasts would routinely have 15+ courses.

[yuu.design]

GFY is plenty of Roman guys :P

[MiamiBoyz]

Sounds like my neighbors and yes, they are disgusting!

[Grapesoda]

how are the stats lining up between death and the 'of interest' threads?

[Phoenix]

People still drink piss to this day...eggs pickled in pre puberty boys piss is a delicacy in one country i know of

[blackmonsters]

Well, at least nobody told them they smelled like shit.

[CurrentlySober]

Perhaps I'm a roman and didn't know it? Piss everywhere, overflowing exploding toilets, puking up etc... All part of a normal day for me...

[CaptainHowdy]

So what ??

[Major (Tom)]

I think every foodie has done the vomit thing. Although I had the decorum to use the shitter.

[money biz]

Urine is not bad for you its natures way of water distillation. Doesn't suprise me it was a hot commodity back in the day. Just google urine therapy for more info.

[Smack dat]

Originally Posted by money biz

Urine is not bad for you its natures way of water distillation. Doesn't suprise me it was a hot commodity back in the day. Just google urine therapy for more info.

Is there still a market for piss?

[pimpmaster9000]

Originally Posted by Phoenix

People still drink piss to this day...eggs pickled in pre puberty boys piss is a delicacy in one country i know of

An egg, pickled in piss...you cant make that shit up, I dont even have to google to check I already know it must be true...I did not even know people pickled eggs...why the fuck would you pickle an egg?

[baddog]

Originally Posted by crucifissio

An egg, pickled in piss...you cant make that shit up, I dont even have to google to check I already know it must be true...I did not even know people pickled eggs...why the fuck would you pickle an egg?

Pickled eggs are delicious compared to what the Chinese do with them.

[American Psycho]

Originally Posted by crucifissio

An egg, pickled in piss...you cant make that shit up, I dont even have to google to check I already know it must be true...I did not even know people pickled eggs...why the fuck would you pickle an egg?

i dunno but ask your mommy i sure she took some piss pickels in her day as a vomatorium slag

[ContentPimp]

HA?! Dicks were drawn in dangerous places to keep the travelers safe?
In what way?
To scare the fuck out of their enemies?

Interesting but funny stuff right there!

[scarlettcontent]

[eric_wahlberg]

Well, Roman facts look bad if you view it from this century, but that was completely okay with those people at that time.

Who knows 100 years from now, people will say all we did was eat, sit and do no physical exercise.

As far as erotic art is concerned, I don't think that we should abuse it especially on this forum because all of us are related with adult business.

I don't see anything wrong with roman culture.

[ReggieDurango]

Originally Posted by CurrentlySober

Perhaps I'm a roman and didn't know it? Piss everywhere, overflowing exploding toilets, puking up etc... All part of a normal day for me...

Hahahahahahahahahaha

[Look Chang]

Urine therapy cannot be bad and pissing is so relaxing after drinking a few pints of beer

[Spunky]

Nothing says clean than a mouth full of piss

[Adnium_Ivana]

With hygienic practises such as these (along with the no bathing for months thing) it is little wonder why Europe was engulfed in plague(s) centuries later

[oppoten]

Originally Posted by Adnium_Ivana

With hygienic practises such as these (along with the no bathing for months thing) it is little wonder why Europe was engulfed in plague(s) centuries later

Some might argue that the plague is still here, telling us how disgusting the Europeans are and were

It's subtle, but it's anti-white

Listverse Authors - Listverse

[Joe Obenberger]

It's smart to keep in mind that lots of the most lurid stuff that gets posted about Roman life comes from the yellow journalists of the era who had a political axe to grind and who wanted to tear down the high and mighty by accusing them of immorality. Suetonius comes to mind. Because he or someone like him wrote about deviant practices, gluttony, and excess to hurt the ruling class - establishes what the center of gravity of Roman morality actually was, and how writers aimed to shock the people with thise reports. In general, the Romans were a highly moral and disciplined people, though their morality is not congrurent with ours, much of it, like idealism, simplicity, humility, selfless devotion and sacrifice is the same. The most surprising thing to me about the Romans is that the sexual use of slaves was considered moral, natural, and not even "cheating" on a spouse. Even in US chattel slavery, this was illegal and considered to be a thing of shame when it happened and was discovered.

As for urine - till pretty recent times, it was commonly used to get potassium nitrate in order to make gunpowder - during the US Revolution, we had few natural mineral deposits and urine extraction was the norm. (There were some deposits in Mammouth Cave, Ky.) There are probably survivalists who do it today. It was used in folk medicine here too. Elvis explained that when he had an earache as a kid, his mother dropped warm urine into his ear. Doesn't seem to have harmed him.

This is all just a matter of changing tastes and customs. None of it should shock any grown-up.

[Relic]

Originally Posted by Joe Obenberger

It's smart to keep in mind that lots of the most lurid stuff that gets posted about Roman life comes from the yellow journalists of the era who had a political axe to grind and who wanted to tear down the high and mighty by accusing them of immorality. Suetonius comes to mind. Because he or someone like him wrote about deviant practices, gluttony, and excess to hurt the ruling class - establishes what the center of gravity of Roman morality actually was, and how writers aimed to shock the people with thise reports. In general, the Romans were a highly moral and disciplined people, though their morality is not congrurent with ours, much of it, like idealism, simplicity, humility, selfless devotion and sacrifice is the same. The most surprising thing to me about the Romans is that the sexual use of slaves was considered moral, natural, and not even "cheating" on a spouse. Even in US chattel slavery, this was illegal and considered to be a thing of shame when it happened and was discovered.

As for urine - till pretty recent times, it was commonly used to get potassium nitrate in order to make gunpowder - during the US Revolution, we had few natural mineral deposits and urine extraction was the norm. (There were some deposits in Mammouth Cave, Ky.) There are probably survivalists who do it today. It was used in folk medicine here too. Elvis explained that when he had an earache as a kid, his mother dropped warm urine into his ear. Doesn't seem to have harmed him.

This is all just a matter of changing tastes and customs. None of it should shock any grown-up.

Good points.

[notinmybackyard]

Originally Posted by blackmonsters

Sounds like a bunch of bullshit to me.
That people that smart would wash their clothes is piss is complete bullshit.
And with all the fat motherfuckers in America, we don't even have one that will vomit to eat more pizza.

Bullshit.

Urine is ammonia. I've been washing my floors and clothes with it for 50+ years. Just the same I agree with that the article is just a sensationalized fluff piece to get clicks.

[_Richard_]

Originally Posted by American Psycho

i dunno but ask your mommy i sure she took some piss pickels in her day as a vomatorium slag

meh, it's really funny how disgusted that part of the world is with pickled eggs, when they pickle basically everything else

(edit, pickled mushrooms are incredible tho)

[Tom-LifeSelector]

interesting article, thanks for sharing