3 ms·

I enjoyed your comment, but would have appreciated it even more if some of the words had said what the Romans used instead of making me look at the TFA.

by mhb 8y ago

mhb 8y ago
OK here: But instead of reaching for a roll of toilet paper, an ancient Roman would often grab a tersorium (or, in my technical terms, a “toilet brush for your butt”). A tersorium is an ingenious little device made by attaching a natural sponge (from the Mediterranean Sea, of course) to the end of a stick. Our ancient Roman would simply wipe him- or herself, rinse the tersorium in whatever was available (running water and/or a bucket of vinegar or salt water), and leave it for the next person to use. That’s right, it was a shared butt cleaner. (And of course, there were other means of wiping as well, such as the use of abrasive ceramic discs called pessoi.)
- Endy 8y ago
  Thank you for posting this - you added more value than that entire article.
  - guitarbill 8y ago
    The wikipedia article used quite similar wording and images, and you can click through to some more topics: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xylospongium https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xylospongium
    - FabHK 8y ago
      TIL that "In the middle of the first century Seneca reported that a Germanic gladiator had committed suicide with a sponge on a stick. The German hid himself in the latrine of an amphitheater and pushed the wooden stick into his gullet and choked to death."
      - Endy 7y ago
        In that alone Seneca thus reported that Roman culture had every right to be dismantled. If you push a man so far that he'll kill himself with a sponge recently up someone's butt, your entire society has gone too far.
stoppergoo 8y ago
Oh you made a meta comment on his comment. Inception
slim 8y ago
here's the picture that should have been in the lead http://static.nautil.us/16038_96fb9b48825b741083d35b0137af1be0.jpg http://static.nautil.us/16038_96fb9b48825b741083d35b0137af1b...

I enjoyed your comment, but would have appreciated it even more if some of the words had said what the Romans used instead of making me look at the TFA.

by mhb 8y ago

I enjoyed your comment, but would have appreciated it even more if some of the words had said what the Romans used instead of making me look at the TFA.

mhb 8y ago

OK here: But instead of reaching for a roll of toilet paper, an ancient Roman would often grab a tersorium (or, in my technical terms, a “toilet brush for your butt”). A tersorium is an ingenious little device made by attaching a natural sponge (from the Mediterranean Sea, of course) to the end of a stick. Our ancient Roman would simply wipe him- or herself, rinse the tersorium in whatever was available (running water and/or a bucket of vinegar or salt water), and leave it for the next person to use. That’s right, it was a shared butt cleaner. (And of course, there were other means of wiping as well, such as the use of abrasive ceramic discs called pessoi.)

Endy 8y ago
Thank you for posting this - you added more value than that entire article.
- guitarbill 8y ago
  The wikipedia article used quite similar wording and images, and you can click through to some more topics: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xylospongium https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xylospongium
  - FabHK 8y ago
    TIL that "In the middle of the first century Seneca reported that a Germanic gladiator had committed suicide with a sponge on a stick. The German hid himself in the latrine of an amphitheater and pushed the wooden stick into his gullet and choked to death."
    - Endy 7y ago
      In that alone Seneca thus reported that Roman culture had every right to be dismantled. If you push a man so far that he'll kill himself with a sponge recently up someone's butt, your entire society has gone too far.

stoppergoo 8y ago

Oh you made a meta comment on his comment. Inception

slim 8y ago

here's the picture that should have been in the lead http://static.nautil.us/16038_96fb9b48825b741083d35b0137af1be0.jpg http://static.nautil.us/16038_96fb9b48825b741083d35b0137af1b...