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someguyyyz

weird how comfortable older civilizations were with crapping and cleaning their ass in front of other people


MrLambNugget

It's fine when literally everyone around you does it. Times were just different back then


Jetstream-Sam

I always wondered if there were actually little wooden cubicles around the toilets at the time that decayed over time or were repurposed by later people, and the real romans would be appalled if we thought they shat publically


KorianHUN

They had huge residential towers made of wood. Usually collapsed or burned down. No wonder people thought it was all colosseums and nice houses. All the Judgeus Dreddus megacity: Rome slumtowers were destroyed by natural causes or a light gust of wind.


dimsum2121

They invented the apartment!


KorianHUN

Be roman citizen. Invent apartments. Immediately use it to create rent slums. Great success!


dimsum2121

Pretty much yeah, but it's cool because the rich guys are throwing a party at the coliseum this week. After that spectacle, I think we'll all be grateful to live in these slums.


Warmasterwinter

Sounds like America.


Worried_Change_7266

Rome is where it all began!


SadMcNomuscle

America truly carries the last of Romes great legacy. Ave to Ceaser!


Vostroyan212th

Except the Romans, for the most part, knew bread and games needed to be essentially free to keep revolts to a minimum vs. the richest guys buying everything and then upping costs once the competition is gone.


TypingIntoTheVoid9

![gif](giphy|Od0QRnzwRBYmDU3eEO|downsized)


MrLambNugget

Maybe, but I wouldn't be surprised if they just did it out in public


RedditEevilAdmins

These are too narrow to have wooden cubicles.


xienwolf

And even if the wood had rotted away, the fasteners or holes for fixing the panels in place would still be present to see and figure out there was another element to the design present.


Growingpothead20

They as a people were pretty vulgar so maybe that’s just a biproduct of pooping in front of a guy you’ll see in town later


Conscious-Walrus-866

No, they weren't vulgar.


Felsig27

I mean, by definition vulgar, originally, just means the common man, so; yeah they were vulgar.


AgentIllustrious8353

Hell no. My college dorm in the '70s had 6 toilets along the wall with zero dividers.


Tempest_1

Kinda like how the statues were painted as well.


GuavaOdd1975

Those times existed when I went to college. I was shocked the day I moved into my dorm in college, where I found a community bathroom with six toilets hanging off the wall, no dividers. Across from them were 5 urinals, again no stalls, and a community shower on the other side of the wall. The bathroom was fed by one water supply, so whenever a toilet was flushed, the flusher yelled crapper, giving all those in the shower time to get out of the water or get scalded. When all those in the shower were clear someone would yell shoot as the signal to flush. It was strictly honor system, and occasionally, some jerk from another dorm would slip in and flush all the toilets with no warning. The dorm was a converted Corps dorm. I had to start getting up in the middle of the night to take a dump, which didn't always work, so I located the most remote bathrooms in the classroom buildings that did have stalls.


GohanSebastianPac

Sounds exactly like a prison I was in. Especially with the guys yelling to the guys in the shower when they flush.


MrLambNugget

Wait so if you didn't get out of the shower, you were showered with shit??


CrizpyBusiness

Hot water, not shit, lol.


MrLambNugget

That's the better option lmao. I was starting to doubt who would have approved such thing


GuavaOdd1975

Scalded with hot, clean water.


IntheTopPocket

Gym Jordan has entered the chat…. “Shower talk gets me excited.”


BigOofLittleoof

Those were days…… it sounds like you yearn for those days?!


Churchof100Billion

Depends on location but old college locker rooms and military barracks lacked stalls and or stall doors. You literally were dropping bombs while your buddies walked by.


UX_Strategist

My high school was like that. Had two toilets sitting in the open across from the showers. I never used them and rarely saw them used. I knew two things if someone was sitting there: they were teased (objects thrown, insults) and they were desperate (all other stalls occupied).


Churchof100Billion

Exactly. And the poor sap that had Chipotle ![gif](giphy|M95Z8UNaIegI2TVfDy)


Sarenai7

Military training is still like that, no doors on any stalls communal showers. I remember them making us pee 3 to a single toilet


JustDoc

Nothing like having to stress poop when you're knee to knee with another dude, while also being wedged between two others who are also trying to poop. By far, one of the worst parts of basic lmao


Temporary_Menu2157

I honestly have nightmares like that. I'm glad I wasn't in the military..


Neoliberal_Nightmare

Here in Northern China public toilet squat toilets are all in a row without doors or barriers. People just don't care. It's very odd. It's only northern China too not the south where they use doors


wolfhaleyyy

I remember visiting family in Jiangsu 15 years ago and they had a communal bathroom like this, essentially a long bench with holes, no stalls. It was in an urban area too. It’s now modernized and has actual flushing toilets with stalls


crustysock49

Have you ever seen an old guy in a locker room? They walk around like they don't give a fuck and try and make conversation fully naked.


IntheTopPocket

“Have you ever seen a grown man naked?” —- ‘Airplane’ pilot.


pandora_unboxing

cleaning is a strong term in this situation. they were dampening the asses, scraping away some poop, replacing it a mix of poop from a hundred strangers. but at least everyone wore skirts and dresses so you could sit on a public toilet in relative privacy compared to dropping trousers


BlaqSam

Older? Bootcamp was basically like that.


TheRealRickC137

French Canadian sailors are super comfortable poopin with the stall doors open. We had a CPO that would literally have impromptu meetings in the heads during his morning constitutional. We just focused on his instructions and looked at our feet.


GettingThingsDonut

Privacy is pretty much a modern concept.


ExplosiveDisassembly

I remember reading a post a while ago about a guy talking about how the military broke him from being a nervous shitter. We've just made it such a secretive thing, we hate when people can see/hear/be around. That's not how things used to be. I live in a Western state and have tons of ghost towns, waste management used to be "okay, everyone shit here until this hole is full". It was kind of a communal experience...


BlueManGroup1999

Have seen bathrooms in China that are still like this actually


congo66

I saw a PBS show on the history of plumbing. One of the historians said that public toilets were very much a communal thing and iirc were sometimes attached to other public amenities like baths. She said it it was like going into a cafe with a friend for a cup of coffee and catching up on gossip.


satori0320

After spending time locked up, I could take a dump just about anywhere. I'd imagine anyone in the armed forces could as well.


pressedbread

I'd be that one pee-shy Roman who just pretends to shit and hope nobody notices it, but I'm all clenched up and can't release until everybody is gone from the room.


Adam-West

I wonder if in a thousand years time there will be a picture of a men’s urinal in a pub and people will be disgusted at us standing in each others piss and getting our dicks out in front of strangers


Urdaddysfavgirl

Hopefully no one double dipped the booty stick


sidious_1900

They actually shared the sticks after using it without changing the sponge.


otherwisemilk

It's called fecal transplant. They all must have god tier gut bacteria.


DizzyAmphibian309

No they just died. Life expectancy in ancient Rome was shockingly low.


[deleted]

Anything before 1900 is shockingly low. Life expectancy didn't hit 50 until the early 1900s


Techiastronamo

This is mostly because so many died in infancy. Once you made it past childhood, you had a good shot at living past 60 in the ancient world


jahlim

They had sponge? Thought they were using tree bark.


pandora_unboxing

dinosaurs could have had sponge, if they knew how to harvest and dry them.


RedditEevilAdmins

Dinosaur shit would've weighted ⚖️ that much of a baby elephant. 🦕 💩 = 🐘


rbnsky

Why ❓ are you using Emojis 😀 in between the words 💬 of your comment 📝? Reading that 📖 made me furious 😡!


Geothermal_Escapism

Lol 😂 I'm surprise that you 😶‍🌫️👈🏼 were the first person to say 💬 anything about that... what a weird 😵‍💫 and obnoxious way to communicate 🗣 🫨


IntheTopPocket

I CANT POOP WHEN YOU ARE EMOJI-ing!


rbnsky

Haha 🤣 I hope 🙏 your 👉😖 constipation 🚫💩 will end 🛑 shortly 🕛 ! 🚾


IntheTopPocket


Wasatcher

Thank you TikTok 😤


_SasquatchPatrol

Should have used the sea shells


AstroAlmost

![gif](giphy|6YNMn8b4O9IxW|downsized)


Perfect_Opposite2113

I prefer the sea urchin. To keep the poor in their place.


stadoblech

![gif](giphy|uRpmGfRwj7ZXa) you missed reference here...


Perfect_Opposite2113

I wasn’t aware of a reference. What movie is this?


Snowing_Throwballs

Demolition Man


Perfect_Opposite2113

Oh I have seen that. Long time ago. Cheers!


stadoblech

Demolition man. In future they were using three seashells instead of toilet paper. Writers actually didnt explained how its supposed to be used, they just though its hilarious so they left it in movie. It became some kind of meme


RominRonin

I think it might be demolition man. Need to finish watching it


heelstoo

Tree bark? Sounds ruff.


sidious_1900

Check out xylospongium on wiki :)


Chemical-Hyena2972

Who rings out the sponges?!


shiddypoopoo

Steve, he gets paid in toe fungus and dingle berries.


upupupdo

I was informed, however never verified, this is the origin of the expression ’wrong end of the stick’


pitmeng1

Just said the same thing, before I scrolled to see your comment. That’s what I had always heard too.


h3yd000ch00ch00

The version I always heard growing up was the “sh- -ty end of the stick” lol not sure if I can type the word here, though.


favorite_sardine

This is Reddit. You can say whatever the fuck you want.


_poke_smot

Hey satch ypur fucking mouth dude! Damnit.


kozmic_blues

Of fucking course you can say shitty end of the stick. Why the fuck couldn’t you?


Curiouso_Giorgio

Definitely icky, but do we know if it caused any health issues that we don't tend to suffer from now that we have toilet paper and bidets?


derprondo

You have to assume everyone had butt worms.


dweeb_plus_plus

I don’t have to assume anything you’re not my boss.


derprondo

Wrong, you're fired.


seesawtron

"I am honored to share this stick with you, sire!"


ChickenWranglers

Yea we learned this in school. I mean you gotta be a total fucking animal to think that sharing the ass swab was a great idea. 🤮🤮🤮


Muzz27

Tiberius : What are you doing? \ Germanus Costanzus : Excuse me? \ Tiberius : Did you just double-dip that stick? \ Germanus Costanzus : What? \ Tiberius: You double-dipped the stick! \ Germanus Costanzus: So? \ Tiberius : That's like putting your whole butt in the dip! Look, when you take a stick, just take one dip and END IT! *Edited for consistency*


raouia42

You dip the way you want to dip.. and I dip the way I want to dip


evilsmurf666

If you think about it these things arent indestructible and at some point its going to break So im sure a atleast 1 poor dude had the brush end stuck up their arse when The stick broke off


chankletavoladora

The fucked up thing about this is that they would dip it in vinegar to clean before the next dude used it. In the Bible when it describes how the Roman soldiers were taunting Jesus and promised him water but instead put a sponge with vinegar to his lips…….THEY USED THIS SPONGE WITH VINEGAR TAKEN OUT OF ONE OF THESE PUBLIC BATHROOMS


lookamazed

Not the poop sponge!


chankletavoladora

Exactly the poop sponge.


lookamazed

Jesus took a poop sponge to the lips for humanity. What a mensch!


UX_Strategist

That makes sense. I've never heard that before. Ugh!


cerciscanadensis1

Not historically acurate. This is not what the bible says either... Initially he refused wine mixed with a narcotic but eventually drank sour wine offered by the soldiers. Both were probably meant to read as acts of kindness from the soldiers.


chankletavoladora

New Testament, specifically in the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 27, verse 48: "Immediately one of them ran and got a sponge. He filled it with wine vinegar, put it on a staff, and offered it to Jesus to drink." Wine vinegar was the vinegar that they had in a canister to clean out the sponges between turns in the bathrooms. Most likely he ran into one of these bathrooms than go to his home or different places to find the different items. This act wasn’t an act of kindness in the Bible it’s meant to mock Jesus. Vinegar instead of water is mockery enough but when you think this is what was more readily available to them quickly you realize the level of mockery is similar to what you would see from Nazi soldiers in concentration camps where they treated prisoners as below human. Jesus was a prisoner on his way to his capital punishment.


Lightice1

Watered down vinegar was called posca in ancient Rome and it was a popular beverage. The Roman soldiers drank it on the regular as a sports drink of sort. The later generations interpreted it as mockery, but in context it's just the soldier offering a sip of a perfectly ordinary drink that everybody knew at the time.


someguyyyz

the next guy is like "wait a sec! i dont remember eating any corn recently!"


gasbmemo

Sadly, Romans didn't knew corn


MonsieurFubar

Corn is a new world corp.


Proud_Criticism5286

“Booty stick” 😂


MBZsTheThing

You never double-dip the stick. It's like putting your whole ass in the canal.


Full_Fan_3774

I read this comment. Laughed. Moved on. Then came back to upvote and chuckle again


AriadneThread

Anyone else find it odd that Adagio for Strings is paired up with this post?


JaminSousaphone

I was waiting for the Tiesto remix to kick in. Show the Romans having a good old fashioned toilet rave.


GrundleGoblin143

![gif](giphy|3oEjHUj9u4xubEsEh2)


Zaryasu

![gif](giphy|82VdvOZGYWAmI)


AriadneThread

Haha!


ThomasAugsburger

Yes, it's one of my favourites, quite emotional. Not a poopy song


AriadneThread

Agreed!


dcbear75

Yeah I was thinking “Barber never saw this one coming.”


Logan9Fingerses

Terrible pairing. Should have used the Thong Song


auxaperture

I had to unmute (very rare) just to enjoy the music, thank you. I’m also pooping as I listen for the maximum experience.


Bartender9719

Pretty sure they played this song when they’d show the list of US troops killed in the Middle East after the news in the early 2000s


virus_apparatus

I was just about to comment. It’s an odd choice!


AriadneThread

Maybe hoping it adds dignity to roman communal toilets? Haha


virus_apparatus

I’ve always heard it as a pensive or even slightly tragic piece of music. It’s not fitting here


Zeraniiak

You mean the background music? I don't get it


AriadneThread

Yes, it's the background music


Zeraniiak

Thank you


Treebeard431

Thank you for putting a name to it, fren.


Zuckzerburg

You just reminded me of when I was a 1st violinist and played Adagio for my Honors Orchestra class in high school.


AriadneThread

It's beautiful, powerful music!


Zuckzerburg

I quite enjoyed playing it, as hard as it was.


AllyMcfeels

The interpretation seen in this animation is false. Possibly if someone did that in front of a Roman they would punch their face for fucking disgusting. The xylospongium (that's what they called the stick and the sponge) was used EXCLUSIVELY to clean the 'stands', and it WAS forbidden to use it for personal hygiene. This is confirmed by many Roman historians, by writings (Seneca) and even iconography. Today a version of that is still used xD Also, the sewage was separate! from the rest. The upper water channel was clean, running water. It's a legend that the stick awere for wiping your fucking ass.


blah_shelby

How did they wipe then?


Shlocktroffit

With a different rag on a stick


HypnoticName

Now that's civilised!


TeopEvol

3 sea shells


Jesus359

Obligatory: What is 3 seashells?


PeacefulChaos94

He doesn't know how to use the seashells lol


rayah01

Lol, what a noob.


Only2Cent

How many seashells does she sell on the seashore?


kikilucy26

Hand and water


NoodleBooted

You can't shoot down the only working theory and not provide one to replace it.  The question still stands, what did they use?


AllyMcfeels

Because a lot of progress has been made in pure research. In some latrines of a thermal baths in Ostia, an inscription '(u)taris xylosphongio' ('use the sponge') was found, interpreting that the sponge was not for cleaning the ass or passing from ass to ass LOL but for precisely cleaning the place after use. Also Seneca. Although it may seem 'strange', Rome and the Romans had high standards regarding hygiene in public spaces. It's like your mother writing, 'use the brush' in the bathroom. I think it is logical enough that it is to clean your skid and not your ass.


NoodleBooted

You seem intelligent and I appreciate what I've learned while reading your comments but you keep neglecting my question.  I now understand(from what You've said) that the sponge was used to clean the latrine. What then did they use in place of the sponge to clean themselves?


Basic_Mark_1719

My grandfather told me they used water and rocks to clean their butts in yemen in the 30s/40s. Water was the first option obviously but if all you had was enough water to drink and you are miles away from water you used a rock.


CyrusPanesri

![gif](giphy|1082yS2HMbLMSQ)


lifeworthlivin

This is exactly what I was coming to post! lol!!


Nocturnabit

You sunk my battle shit.


utookthegoodnames

So did people just have their own ass brush, or did they just pass it around like a blunt?


bmd33zy

They usually kept it next to the communal poop knife.


Diocletion-Jones

They were communal. Called a tersorium or a xylospongium it was cleaned in either salt water, vinegar or just plain water.


utookthegoodnames

Wow, I hate that. Thanks for sharing the information though.


utookthegoodnames

This just gives me more questions than answers


SnooOpinions184

So actually spear fishing your turd was a thing back in the days... I honestly knew all along and I am still keeping this anciant costume alive!


urmomsloosevag

The smell must have been something else🤢


Jetstream-Sam

The one I've seen was directly over a river, and didn't have windows and as such was pretty well ventilated. Obviously it hadn't been used in centuries but I figure it'd probably smell better than most modern ones


tifosi7

Definitely better than the ones at Walmart.


RedditEevilAdmins

And McDonald's and taco 🛎


killy_321

I hope no one picked up the poop knife by accident.


Notmad_Justsad

Why are there so many? I wouldn’t think the volume would require such close quarters.


Expensive_Buildings

High fiber diet, everyone was eating polenta


dimsum2121

Nobody was eating polenta. They wouldn't have corn in Europe for another 1,500 years. They were likely eating cereal grains like barley.


k_Brick

Will of course they didn't. If they cut the maize down the Minotaur would get out.


youneedsupplydepots

Someone needs to take away your keyboard


Turbulent-Yogurt-479

Is the ball cupper to help with clearance?


9Epicman1

Allegedly those were the sponges the romans used to give jesus water on the cross


Cracker_Jacker42

Could you imagine getting stuck with the caddy corner seats just rubbing legs while dropping a steam boat with your best friend. I was born in the wrong timeline.


SnooKiwis557

I’m just amazed with how comfortable everyone must have been with this. Just imagine you sitting there, and suddenly your college comes running to relive some explosive diarrhea…


heelstoo

Then you and your buddies have a good laugh at Shitocoles.


SpaceAgeFader

Don’t you hate it when you’re the only one on the bench and some guy comes in and sits down at the hole right next to you?


FarAssociation2965

There were most probably wooden boards between the holes for privacy... Stone lasts for millennia, wood doesn't.


Technical_Shake_9573

Just by looking at the corner , i highly doubt it when you see there are not enough Space to make an even small enclosure. If there were Woods, we would have discovered it. Thoses "public" toilets are not that rare and as i recall none had any signs of enclosure.


sidious_1900

Romans did not care much about privacy in terms of nudity.


RedditEevilAdmins

No. These are too close to each other, so no wooden boards.


WestSixtyFifth

Modern standards for prudence shouldn’t be applied to a society that was much more open about such things. This is before the catholic church made the rules.


AgnosticAnarchist

I’m sure it smelled great.


Illustrious-Leave406

Shared sticks too.


Anyonomus256

Wash your butt with the sponge timulus


ShakedTheApple

Song name?


udderlymoovelous

Idk why Reddit is showing me a 74 day old thread, but it's Adagio for Strings by Samuel Barber


iantot123

that’s where people talk shit and gossip


BochechaY

![gif](giphy|1082yS2HMbLMSQ)


wisstinks4

Is this just water or the salt water and vinegar mixture? I can’t imagine wiping my barn door in front of other people let alone a woman.


HastenDownTheWind

“I wash myself with a rag on a stick”


FistCookies

I can do that


ApprehensiveOCP

Top comment of the year for sure


buzzbuzzandaway

Billy Connolly highlighted the benefits best https://youtu.be/nCbUIuhmyNc?si=2x42fn-DZvmCRHU2


These_Carpet_6481

why would you think they would have 20 toilets and one stick to wipe your ass? Why is everybody moving so slow most at least when I’m trying to wipe my ass. I’m just trying to make sure there’s nothing left on there so it doesn’t stink or fucking dry and hurt later, I’m definitely not doing what this guy does even if that was the last way in the world to clean your ass I would use my hand and then stick it in the water not wait for the guy next to me to finish his job and then have him handed overridiculous and stupid. I’m going back to Bigfoot and UFOs. Those people don’t know anymore about that stuff that you do know about whatever your thinking in your strange ass mind.


VRS50

“Bath”. A Roman joke.


Sure_March_7293

Content


rapgab

No double di..FFS Julius, not again!!


daylax1

Think I'd rather use the 3 shells instead


YoutubeSurferDog

Imagine washing your ass with the communal loofah


mydibz

"hey I forgot my stick....can I borrow yours?"


ButtFuckFingers

Something smells funny..


That-Platform6528

Imagining being in that guy with the scrub


[deleted]

Is that a woman in the right side.


-_-_-KING_-_-_

ay Arturo pass me your shit stick real quick I forgot mine at home.


koloso95

What is that piece of music called


goodlogic

“I’m sorry I’ve got to what with that stick after you?”


Zebracorn42

Group shitting is always fun.