We can thank the ancient Romans for a lot of things. They were the first to start using sewage, a postal system and water supply. We must also not forget their contributions to architecture, urban planning, the 12-month calendar and the legal system, which are still relevant today.
Maybe you don't know yet, huh? the ancient Romans were also very economical with the use of waste materials - especially with their own waste. Human urine and feces were used in everyday life at least 6 different (and sometimes dubious) ways.
1. Teeth whitening
When urine sits for a while, it breaks down into ammonia, which is great for cleaning and removes stains easily. Roman authors such as Gaius Valerius Catullus, confirm that humans have used human and animal urine as a mouthwash, which is said to make teeth whiter.
2. Juicy fruit
Urine also contains nitrogen and phosphorus, which are said to be useful for growing plants. Roman author Lucius Junius Moderatus Columella wrote that old human urine is particularly useful in growing pomegranates, as it makes them tastier and juicier.
3. More rigid
Ammonia in urine has also been used to clean solids in ti Fullonics (the place because they were doing laundry). The first stage of the clean-up involved men jumping up and down in togas in large tubs filled with urine. The second phase usually involved soil or ash. Both of these helped to dissolve the fat that had accumulated on the legs.
4. Treatment of animals
Among other things, Columela also wrote that human urine should be used in veterinary purposes: sheep with bile problems were supposed to drink human urine, and those with lung problems were given urine through the nose. Even sick bees are said to drink human urine, and bird flu has been cured by applying lukewarm urine to bird beaks.
5. Tanning
The ancient Romans often used urine, dog excrement and sometimes human excrement to make them leather. A long soak in urine removed hair from the skin, and then feces was added. The enzymes produced by the bacteria softened the skin, making it more supple.
6. Fertilizing fields
Fertilizer made from human feces can help plants grow, but it can also spread disease. They are Romans used human feces and urine in their gardens, as the natural mixture of poop, nitrates, phosphorus and potassium fed the plants. Apparently, they even traded excrement in Roman times, as it is documented stercorari, poop collectors who then sold you.
Although human waste was used in a variety of ways in ancient Rome, it is not clear how it was collected. Latrines – both public and private – were undoubtedly useful for combinations of urine and feces, but tanners who needed pure urine could not work with them. It is also clear that the collection of this waste was not free. Emperor Vespasian around the year 70 AD. no. introduced urine tax. His son Titus is said to have expressed his disgust at the tax, and Vespasian retorted with words “Pecunia non olet.”("Money doesn't stink."). His tax was so famous that his name is still used today as a general term for urinals (vespassiennes in french, Vespasians in Italian).
The next time you enter the restrooms or the bathroom, thank the Roman deities Clocacin. If you anger this goddess of the sewage system, she will undoubtedly send you a disaster that only a plumber can solve.
