This is very tangential, but I just learned today that aristocratic ancient Romans used to dye sheep purple. To show off to other Romans, they used the then sup

This is very tangential, but I just learned today that aristocratic ancient Romans used to dye sheep purple. To show off to other Romans, they used the then super-expensive purple dyes, the ones they used on woolen togas of high social rank, on whole sheep. Pliny wrote about it in Naturalis Historia. - "I myself have seen the fleece upon the living animal dyed purple, scarlet, and violet,—a pound and a half of dye being used for each,—just as though they had been produced by Nature in this form, to meet the demands of luxury." https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/60230/pg60230-images.html#BOOK_VIII_CHAP_74 https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/60230/pg60230-images.ht...