How They Did It - Going to the Bathroom in Ancient Rome
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- čas přidán 3. 02. 2018
- Join us in an exploration of the daily lives of our ancestors! Today we discuss going to the bathroom in ancient Rome. We hope you enjoy this look at the under reported side of every day history.
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Documentary Credits:
Research: Invicta
Script: Invicta
Narration: Invicta
Cartoon Artwork: Miss Oakley
Editing: Invicta
Music: 8th Mode Music
Research Sources:
As The Romans Did by Jo-Ann Shelton
Life in Ancient Rome by Lesley Adkins
What's the poop on ancient toilets by Jodi Magness
Toilet hygiene in the classical era by Philippe Charlier - Hry
I am happy to launch a pilot episode for a new series called "How They Did It" which covers the every day lives of our ancestors. These casual style history video will not replace our other formats. Instead this and other short form series will be used to fill in the void caused by my gaming videos being moved to the 2nd channel: czcams.com/channels/-aoMrWqVF09ZKKiWhLLReg.html
Your feedback is definitely welcome!
Just one question, where the hell is the roman legion doc you cant just start a doc and never finish it, and I'm pretty sure a lot of people will agree with me...
ehhhh.... sure why not? i'll watch.
Invicta do the public baths for thw next video.
Invicta im so glad you started on a new serie. Cant wait for another one. Good luck with that
Next Topic: Slavery in Ancient Rome.
Truly
The height of civilization
Toilets
Yes in deed
Hiukas without them, we can expect mass cholera
"There's poop in the street. We really need to do something about the poop in the street."
What a world it would be if shit just flew away to the sky and evaporate there
Meanwhile in India...
A million souls... A million shits... Rome.
the Eternal City everyone
No wonder disease outbreaks were common
Imagine later in the middle ages.
The Romans must have had soap or some substance similar to it.
If people accidentally stepped in crap on the streets, they would need some sort of cleaning agent other than just water.
@@rotciv1492outbreaks of diseases in the middle ages. Shit. Nowadays people in San Francisco and Los Angeles are shitting in the streets and diseases are affecting people, thanks to liberal policies.
lol
@@knoxvillehermitfreemoviesm3625 They did! Soft soaps can be made from ashes or limestone and animal fats. Hard soaps can be made from the same basic ingredients, but are more expensive to make.
However, there is another soap option that would have been universally available and within the reach of even a beggar. Wood ash. When wet, either from mixing in water or simply from wet hands, Calcium and Potassium Oxide in the ash form Hydroxides. These hydroxides will react with grease to form soap in a process called Saponification. It is the same process as making soft or hard soap, just all taking place on your hands. Simply wet your hands, rub them with ashes, and rinse.
The only downside is it can really dry out your skin if done too frequently.
"Oh, to be born 2,000 years ahead from now, where the common man has luxuries the Augustus himself would be envious of and if had, would revel over."
- Roman dude with a time machine
AD 19
Oh ive met that dude. Real nice. Refused to shower though. Laughed at our modern fascination with higene and smell. Genuis with a flux capicitor though. Said he came up with the idea after fainting and hitting his head during an affixi-wank.
@@nicosmind3 The Romans bathed. Even barraks for legionairs in Britania had latrines with running water (from a stream) and a legionair only bath house.
I would rather be emperor of an ancient empire than some commoner in a modern society. One thing the guy at the top gets in any time period is beautiful women.
@@user-uy1rg8td1v True true. But you gotta get them up to date with 21st century hygiene.
Yeah, but did that one man bathe?
These are the kind of videos that make me realize, if I ever intend to travel back in time and take over an ancient world.
I NEED to bring plumbing technology with me!
They did have plumbing, it was just a matter of costs, which is why actual toilets were public and state-founded
@@iafozzac
How to be elected in Ancient Rome: "A toilet in every home!"
Or at least bring toilet paper, even *that* simple stuff would be an improvement.
and vaccines.
@@iridescentaurora268 ''simple''
Please, more stuff like this. Everyday lives of historical people.
its a huge area to explore that no one on CZcams really seems to be discussing
@@InvictaHistory It makes us appreciate what we have today.
OMFG the Three Seashells make sense now!!!!
Death Trooper ohhhh
@Death Trooper: You beat me to that comment! :-D In the future, historians will look back at the 20th and 21st century and will mock us for not having the three sea shell method!
I came to say the same thing. Glad I wasn't the only one that thought about it.
But guys, HOW DO THEY WORK?
I knew someone would reference Demolition Man XD Love that movie. Of course, I also fear it because I can see our society becoming like that.
Regarding chamber pots and throwing it into the street, this is now considered by many historians to probably be highly exaggerated. The main points being that the high curbs and stepping stones were actually more likely built as such to avoid horse manure and heavy rain flows - and there were sewer openings everywhere where people could toss their waste. There is abundant solid evidence that the ancient Romans were almost obsessed with hygiene - they went to enormous lengths to get abundant clean water throughout their cities, had public wash fountains and bath houses everywhere. In the best preserved places like Herculaneum there are still the ancient water pipes which they had piping to every house, highly sophisticated sewerage systems and even the doctors would tell everyone to wash thoroughly every day.
The term "Look out below!" originated from people warning the poor souls beneath their window as they emptied their chamber pots!
in Mexico people say aguas to mean watch out! (aguas means water, people would throw buckets of water out windows)
@@omarsanchez7599 No "aguas" is second person informal and means "look out". It just looks and sounds like the plural of water "aguas".
I wonder how Rome must have been smelling after Saturnalia.
Anton Richter rich people had villas in the countryside for more than one reason ;)
To a roman from back in those days, OUR cities (and people) would probably have an unbearable stench.
History smells like ass.
Of course the Colosseum had public bathrooms. A lot more here... www.tribunesandtriumphs.org/colosseum/colosseum-water-sewer-system.htm
There is no way in hell a Roman would celebrate saturnalia, that's an old nordic holiday and the Roman's eventually converted them into christianity and saturnalia became Christmas.
I’m just imagining a guy was pooping in a public toilet with several toilets and people.
Jimmy: Hey Jo
Jo: Hey Jimmy
Jimmy: so... pooping?
Jo: yep. That chilli got me good.
Jimmy: cool.
ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh ahahahahahaha
I wouldn't survive
there's just no way
Google harvest falcon latrine. We still basically have this setup in the military deployed. it's pretty humorous for a while, then you get over it and wonder why people are so insistent on privacy
@@HH60gPaveHawk A lot of people are pretty shy about being naked (semi naked in this case), depends where you live in the world of course. But like you said we adapt.
M O Jimmius*
@@HH60gPaveHawk That's because yall get turned into drones. I myself love to shit in peace.
Thank god, I can continue to be a subscriber as you agree the proper way to present the toilet paper is over. I did get worried for a second
@tommysil looks like someone needs to start soft-side-over brand
tommysil That's commercials and such and they're wrong. The proper and intended way is over, as shown by the official patent from 1891 for perforated toilet paper
tommysil obviously, since you’re currently standing on the shoulders of giants.
I only get the high class shit that is pretty equally soft on both sides (and soft it is).
(For real though, there's a technique for easily folding the inside out (using over), by grabbing the toilet paper (topmost sheet) with hand upside down (fingers out out), then tearing with the pinky side of your hand, then making a corkscrew motion, flipping the paper over. As inconvenient as having to flip your pen around when you pick it up).
Tommysil, don't act like a fool. The average person back in the 18th or 19th century was smarter than the average person today. Less educated, but smarter. That includes you, whether you're average or not.
Actually most houses had these huge amphoras in the first floor, where you emptied your pisspot. Then the urine was collected from them for fabric manufacturing, especially for coloring. Poop was the one which was thrown out from the window. However there were men with wheelbarrows who collected poop as a fertilizer in the streets, where you could go empty your poop free of charge. And finally, those sponges, when used were dropped in the toilet where the stream took them to river tiber which carried all the sewage water to the ocean. Cheers! :D
Those sponges were used by the next guy.
Poop as fertilizer? I see why it was a miracle if you lived past 40 back then, we know now that human poop is too toxic to be made into fertilizer, due to what our bodies use to break down food, and that's if you ate healthy, you don't want to know how toxic poop is when people ate bad.
@@yumikumi2 It is still done some places and was in many others until recently. It is called night soil. That is why contaminants for water and produce are readily available in Mexico. Very little night soil is actually used but people are afraid it might be.
Added I meant decontaminates. You add it to drinking water and soak fruits and vegetables. Used to decontaminate drinking water too but all but the poorest drink and cook with bottled water. Most water is potable but no one trusts it.
@@markhorton3994 There are plenty of uses for night soil besides food crops … ornamental plantings. Use human waste for that and cow and chicken manure for food.
That does it I'm making my toilet look like a chariot. Dudes had style back then.
St.Michael seems pretty relaxing
"Caca bene et vitare medicos"....graffiti from a Roman latrine (loosely translated as "poop well and avoid doctors") As good advice now as then.
I just learned today that we still use "Caca" for poop in french ._.
We transformed literally every word that came from Latin but the only one that kept it's original form is..... poop.
Really a beautiful language.
I just learned today that we still use "Caca" for poop in french ._.
We transformed literally every word that came from Latin but the only one that kept it's original form is..... poop.
Really a beautiful language.
@@petitesayo4542 We use almost the same word in Portuguese as well.
Latin is a funny language, some phrases are really easy to understand while others sound like a different language altogether.
@@petitesayo4542 we use caca in portuguese too
@@princepshadrianvs8542 we use caca in romanian too
It's the 21st century. Where's my laser toilet?
in japan probably
by a good 2 months lol
Exactly, I want the power of the sun in a tiny safe beam to wipe my rump! MAKE IT HAPPEN SCIENCE!
Japan
@@gabriel300010 Well, Japan toilets; do have a cool water spray that's push button operated. It literally cleans your butt after you know,, dump!
holy shit we're lucky to live in a time where most of us have our own toilets and running water
i love how real and genuine your voice sounds. it's not like those boring, monotonous informative videos; you sound actually interested in this and your personality kinda shows through, too. makes these videos all the more fun to watch!
Strange how I’m watching this whilst sitting on the toilet
Excuse me what the fuck
Me too
The correct orientation is indeed "Over".
no sideways is the proper orientation
Sanguinius and that is why Warmaster Horus had to execute your sorry ass...
compare to lorgar who has just been sitting in his pathetic tower for the past 10,000 years
i when out with honor and respect
something a heretic would know nothing about
Preposition
I allow under if the household has small children or cats
Suddenly, public shitinfested gas station toilets don't seem that bad...
I haven't watched this yet, but I must say... YES, this is exactly the kinda shit (pun very much intended) I want to know about. I love learning about HOW people lived back then rather than what they did. (though the "what" is cool as well). AUTOMATIC 👍
glad you appreciated it. The Moments series is more about what they did and this one is more how they did it. I think it will make for a great balance
The only civilised way to wipe is with the three seashells.
That quality thumbnail from the person who made a video on streaming people and serial killers
Im just gonna make a guess both romans and barbarians mainly used rags, and that it was so commonly used that nobody needed to mention it.... like come on, you get a piece of cloth, use it, wash it, repeat.
Thank god for bidets
I actually use the wash rag method. It doesn't irritate my hind quarters like toilette paper does. Use vinegar water with it.
Wow, it's like how India is but today!
Mordant221 hahahahahahah you really made me laugh :-)
Yup
As an Indian, I concur.
Mordant221 truly ironic when they were the first to invent a public water system
That's because many are poor to build toilets, it takes a fortune to construct toilets, bastard, mind your tongue.
Loved HBO's "Rome" series they had several years back..
It's good to hear that the three shells is older than we all think.
I once read a scientific paper that said that in multi-story buildings, they either threw their feces out the window OR there was a barrel on the ground floor for all inhabitants of the building to dump their feces in. Once it was full, the barrel was emptied into the sewers.
Invicta, you're making history fun and approachable! This is a very good series.
This is just why I subscribed to your channel! The military history is great but I love more indepth looks into other parts of history as well. Keep up the great work!
I LOVE the background music!!!!! 😍
I... LOVE... THIS..., for some reason this lightened up my day, with humour anfd history! great video oakley!
btw were you making this presentation in the bathroom? dedication to the point, although just keep the socializing to simply talking to people, shitting and talking is a bit old fashioned :P
haha nah I just added a flushing sound effect : )
Dude, I really love the dedication and effort. Its really apparent!
,thanks!
Love the humor in your voice through this.
I know this one, every time I talk about Rome to my mom she remarks "I never forget about the shared bathrooms or the sponge"
Thank you! I always wondered how they did it. Seriously, no toilet paper, no running water since you are in the middle of The City... Thank you for answering the questions in my mind.
Archangel Productions you don't have to go to a history channel to find out how they did it. Just go to India or Nigeria
You are right, but those towns are still rural regions. When you think about the city of Rome you have a city of millions of people(around 40 million before the fall of Roman Empire) This level of population density requires different ways of waste disposal.
Archangel Productions aight, sorry but your a bit of an idiot. No city has had a population of 40 million, the Roman Empire I do believe held that many inhabitants, but it wasn't a city, it was an empire. And you are aware that Nigeria and India have densely populated cities right?
Broccoli 24 Nigeria has running water. You people always try to paint Africa as a poor continent. There are very rich parts of Nigeria. Just like the U.S. Educate yourself and stop spreading misinformation.
Best series ever. Thanks!
that was priceless. specialy the flushing at the end...
I don't know about you guys, but if *I* was in front of a T-Rex I would definitely take a dump in front of him in 0.0005 seconds. :|
problem is he got out of his car to go to the bathroom... despite there being a T-Rex around lol
Ever played ARK? They actually make you shit yourself if a T-Rex roars at you. Oh yes, you can and will poop in this game. A lot.
That kind of defecation would definitely cause noticeable recoil.
@@ancogaming bringing a ball of shit to your friends as a "gift" or "symbol of our relationship" is still amusing to me
Worse thing you can ever do!!! *Never, ever, dump in front of a Trex!* That turns them on! Much better to be torn in two from a couple of bites than die from anal bleeding and knowing the taste of dinosaur cum and cock. They go for every hole!!!
4:04 Over or under.
If you have a cat choose under, so if the cat plays with the toilet paper it'll stay on the roll, instead of unraveling all over the floor.
Love your enthusiasm!
Quality content, truly enjoy it
shitting is such a biological flaw, they had no way to wipe without it being disgustingly unsanitary, poor people.
Throwing up is much more simpler. Damn biology.
Wayne Brady salt water and vinegar is a pretty decent disinfectant and detergent though.
let me tell you that cale leaves do a pretty good job.
Sea shells, you say... How would I use three of those?
That's what I was thinking too.
Perhaps the "He doesn't know how to use the three seashells" joke is FAR older than we thought.
This was fantastic! Keep 'em coming!
glad you enjoyed
The best way to learn is by having fun. This video is great: I laught and I learnt a lot. Keep doing such a great job
4:32 S E A S H E L L S You say?!
Xero LOL. I get the Demolition Man reference.
Mrshootinputin I was wondering if anyone else would lol
Wait do you guys not use a sponge on a stick?
They does seem like it would get the job done with minimal chafing.
3 years late, but: the Xylospongium was likely just a form of toilet brush. The biggest evidence in favor of it not being used for wiping, contrary to what many believe, is imo the fact that a lot of small pieces of cloth were found in Roman sewers. Like, a lot, roughly the size of modern toilet paper sheets...
Really well done. I had read that Senators and common folk would often be seen using the public restrooms side by side. Thanks for sharing this as it gives insight of how they REALLY lived.
I like this guy. He sounds like a friend telling me shit he learned rather than some professor.
"Correct orientation is over" - instantly subscribing! 😄
:)) there is a detail to add. In some cities (I know it from visiting Ephesus ) in winter you can pay for a slave to warm the surface of the toilet using his butt before you use it
wow that does indeed sound nice
Imagine that;
You are a captured "barbarian", sold into slavery. You hear about the dreadful conditions in the mines and the brutal gladiatorial combats.
And then you find out that your work as a slave consists of sitting on toilets all day.
well I don't think that was the only part :)) think about cleaning and other "pleasant" stuff
like on Ren an Stimpy!?!? : O
This might be the greatest video i've ever watched on youtube.
this was really well done! it's the daily life stuff that is fantastic and this was also huge for public sanitation. may i please suggest one on sleep or food storage or even hanging up your clothes?
I read that some of the Roman latrines would build up gas and sometimes be deadly. They found prayers of some on the walls.
Ballshits
I like this type of videos
hooray it worked
Loving these series
Quality Content, mate.
Do how they got haircuts.
oooh thats a good one. Or something on how to look cool in ancient rome
LIL BROOMSTICKK scissors and razors... lol
Invicta
Mhm, yeah something like fashion in Rome.
Roman brides used to actually comb their hair with a *spear!* Preferably one that was used to kill someone.
dude they even shaved their body hair.There were sharp gilettes back then
Could you talk about our ancestories basically just ate salted rotten meat their entire lives? Or even just the average diet of people from different times and places (Rome, Greece, Ottomen, Sassanite, British pre 16th century and post 17th century)
The whole idea of salting meats is that they do not rot. It works really well, salted meats can be preserved for a very long time.
For the rest of the diet, they did not have access to potatoes and rice back then, so their meals were usually different types of bread, meat and vegetables.
Vidyagamesnake Not true! All foods were available and even before the icebox even veggies could be salted. The Roman state gave out free bread for it's huge welfare population that couldn't afford much except for tiny housing in huge and cramped apartment buildings. How they could even afford the rent is beyond me unless Rome gave out free housing too. Yeah free is crap. No matter what time period you are in if you are on the dole you are the lowest peg. I suspect that the SLAVES ate better than the welfare plebs!
@@qwertyuiopzxcfgh There was rice in rome, it was expensive and not used for diatery staple, but to thicken soups, making sweets and puddings and other stuff for rich people. Imported from the east, like pepper and other condiments, worth its weight in silver. 🍚
@@raimohoft1236 Yea, I was talking about the food commoners ate. Of course, the elite had access to stuff like that, but regular people could only dream about it.
I did enjoy! Because the narrator was enjoying telling the story
Future topics:
Probably my favourite civilization/people are the phoenicians/carthaginians. Maybe talk about the mercenary war or the phoenician homeland?
I also really enjoy it when you talk about non-military topics like trade, agriculture, food, toilets and daily life things in general.
Keep up the great work, man, I really enjoy your videos!
glad you enjoyed this more social history approach to the past
So you’re telling me Ancient Rome had poop dealers too?
Its weird how I watch my dog (doberman). And he poops so gracefully. Its like a little butt flap on his tale that opens then closes. And hes clean. But we humans have not evolved for the same sort of thing thats so important to us. It can be such an akward, and messy business. Lots of animals I guess seem to have no problem. There are exception though, such as cows. UGHH
I have to wipe my dog's ass, or polish his asshole as I like to call it. English Mastiffs can have an entire turd stuck to their butt hole after a poop because 100kg dogs do giant shits and sometimes it doesn't all come out.
Well if humans squatted and were positioned properly when pooping then it would be clean and easy to come out every time.
More videos like this would be great. Like how the sewerage or the houses in that time were build and work
- What shall I decorate your wine cups with?
- A man wiping his butt with a stone.
- Say no more, fam.
Rome, the born place of what defines civilization: public baths.
Funny...Turks teached Europeans how to take a bath!
So putting 💩 related images on mugs is centuries old, who knew.
Can't wait to see more of these
More videos like this please. It’s not that easy to find answers to the topics that we find irrelevant today in our modern society.
> Salt water and vinegar
Oww my mucous membrane!
So basically India or Brazil 2019
what do you mean, Bathrooms ARE serious history. I liked the change of pace, would like to see more ;)
Hmm... This channel have good documentary of epic battles and how people processed their waste... Still, I love them all!!
Seashells?!
Oh I know this. Sponge on a stick.
Man. I remember when this channel was named Oakly...time has passed :P great content I love it
Well done sir, well done.
Why am I getting kid channels in your recommend feed. It must have something to do with this video.
Sam McCullough thats so weird, I am getting those too... how does CZcams know. Maybe the only bathroom related videos on CZcams are for kids
Invicta the fact that CZcams recommends bathroom videos to kids creeps me out. I understand why they do it. But it still creeps me out.
because they are little shits
An interesting....crappy topic.
Loved the new idea
A very interesting concept.
craps romana
mito . . . 😂😂
Instalike
thats a good sign. I am working to introduce several new short form videos like this one to help add more content to the main channel while gaming content makes its migration to the second channel
Invicta you noticed me :)
Love your gestört side of your channel
History
In Argentina, most people still not use paper to clean after pooping. We wash with water using a bidet. And it is much cleaner.
4:36, this was shown in the Spartacus Prequel Season, used by Batiatus.
Although a lot of idiots accused the series of mainly being like softcore porn, but the Spartacus series actually got a lot of information correct and the correct usage of props.
Heck, it also showed Batiatus brushing his teeth with a "sugi".
Those streets with the high curbs and stepping stones were probably more for dealing with the dung of pack animals than the contents of chamber pots. Animal dung in the streets was a major problem in all large towns and cities right up until the use of the automobile became widespread.
Nice to see San Francisco, Portland, and Seattle showing their appreciation for Roman culture.
That's why in my opinion plumbing is one of the best inventions in human history something we take for granted today.
Nice, it is short. To the point and funny.
glad you enjoyed the format
It definitely was refreshing my friend. The level of a civilization is given by how we deal with poop !
Poop again my stinky friend with my ass upon a seat... Whats that i heard a falling turd while my ding dong leaks and pee's, I wipe my ass with what ever's 'round some grass or fallin' leaves... Then make on my merry way so content and bowel's relieved.
Could you do this same topic for all pre modern civilizations? Would be interesting to see which ones were most hygienic in their respective time periods
This was helpful
The answer to the question that no one ever asked XD Seriously though, this seems like it could be a really interesting series and cover the lesser known aspects of ancient history. I hope there are more episodes of this.
Wow, what we take for granted!
A new serie again ^^
That stick with a sponge on the end of it is the source of the saying: "Getting the shit end of the stick."