Over the years & many thanks to Uncle Sam, I've found myself "downloading paperwork" in better and worse conditions than those pictured. Camp T. Brady Saunders, in Maidens, VA had outhouses consisting of steel toilet style cans on a concrete pad. The barracks at VMI (2000-2004) had half-height stalls with saloon doors, so you were had ample opportunity for awkward eyecontact. The WWII era barracks at both Ft. Liberty (formerly Bragg) & Ft. Barfoot (formerly Pickett), didn't have stalls or doors, just a row of toilets on opposite walls. Thankfully the rooms were wide enough your knees didn't touch. After years of hearing the phrase "built like a brick shit house" from my grandfather, a veteran of WWII & Korea, who worked for the health department on the eastern shore, I found one in Afghanistan. Solid brick! I spent a night there in 2005 praying food poisoning would kill me. That same year, I found myself filling an MRE bag due to a lack of options ahead of an operation attempting to surprise the bad guys. To this day, they are likely less surprised than we were frustrated. Port-a-potties in the Kuwaiti desert when the temps are still above 100 degrees at 2am local time remain a nightmare I prefer to avoid. The Romans were definitely on the right path. Flush toilets are wonderous!
I would love to go to Rome and see the Colosseum. And I would be down with learning how they did sanitation because seeing the history of stuff like that is fun. =P
I was really curious to see that stuff! It's not like films and shows and books tend to focus much on stuff like how regular people pooped. I found it super neat.
The Romans were a very advanced group of people in terms of technology. Unfortunately, when their empire faded out, a lot of that innovation was lost until the Renaissance...
Very true, although much of the knowledge stayed around the Mediterranean, and was adopted (and improved) during the Islamic Golden age. The Dark Ages weren't really all that dark, as it turns out, but it also depends on where you look.
Turns out vinegar isn't a great disinfectant, but it actually works for e. coli. And yeah, I deal with sanitation in my stuff -- I'm more into logistics than battle. I use the sponge thing in my Roman fics, and not just for latrines -- for menstrual stuff too. Cheaper than both paper and cloth.
Over the years & many thanks to Uncle Sam, I've found myself "downloading paperwork" in better and worse conditions than those pictured. Camp T. Brady Saunders, in Maidens, VA had outhouses consisting of steel toilet style cans on a concrete pad. The barracks at VMI (2000-2004) had half-height stalls with saloon doors, so you were had ample opportunity for awkward eyecontact. The WWII era barracks at both Ft. Liberty (formerly Bragg) & Ft. Barfoot (formerly Pickett), didn't have stalls or doors, just a row of toilets on opposite walls. Thankfully the rooms were wide enough your knees didn't touch. After years of hearing the phrase "built like a brick shit house" from my grandfather, a veteran of WWII & Korea, who worked for the health department on the eastern shore, I found one in Afghanistan. Solid brick! I spent a night there in 2005 praying food poisoning would kill me. That same year, I found myself filling an MRE bag due to a lack of options ahead of an operation attempting to surprise the bad guys. To this day, they are likely less surprised than we were frustrated. Port-a-potties in the Kuwaiti desert when the temps are still above 100 degrees at 2am local time remain a nightmare I prefer to avoid. The Romans were definitely on the right path. Flush toilets are wonderous!
I'm chuckling at "downloading paperwork" right now.
My son threw a tantrum on the Colosseum floor when we visited Rome. 🤣 he just laid there looking up and crying as it rained.
This isn’t where I thought this article was going. 😂 But I am thankful for the sanitation that exists today.
This was probably the most important thing for us to see. Got any pics of the tantrum preserved for posterity?
I do! Let me find it.
I would love to go to Rome and see the Colosseum. And I would be down with learning how they did sanitation because seeing the history of stuff like that is fun. =P
I was really curious to see that stuff! It's not like films and shows and books tend to focus much on stuff like how regular people pooped. I found it super neat.
The Romans were a very advanced group of people in terms of technology. Unfortunately, when their empire faded out, a lot of that innovation was lost until the Renaissance...
Very true, although much of the knowledge stayed around the Mediterranean, and was adopted (and improved) during the Islamic Golden age. The Dark Ages weren't really all that dark, as it turns out, but it also depends on where you look.
Yes! Yes! The East was never dark!
I love to imagine people just casually hanging out and pooping within inches of each other.
"Hey Maximus, how's it going?"
"Good, good. No diarrhea today, so that's something. How're the kids?"
"Not bad, just dropped them off at the pool LOL!"
"LMAO good one. Anyways, pass me my sea-sponge-stick, will you?"
"Sure, as soon as I'm done with it."
Yeah, using the joby sponge soaked in vinegar might have been the Roman equivalent of Andrex Moist Wipes but sounds absolutely minging 💩 🤢
And then, the next person comes along and uses the same sponge/bucket, and then the next Roman... ugh!
I read somewhere they had, at some time, primitive chemical latrines.
As far as I know, the only chemical they deliberately used was vinegar (for the poop sticks), but Rome was a very big place!
Turns out vinegar isn't a great disinfectant, but it actually works for e. coli. And yeah, I deal with sanitation in my stuff -- I'm more into logistics than battle. I use the sponge thing in my Roman fics, and not just for latrines -- for menstrual stuff too. Cheaper than both paper and cloth.
Lucky Romans! E coli would have been the number one poop-related threat at the time, right?
Aaaand I should not visit this piece right before lunch. Oh well.
BEST HEADLINE EVER! And fun topic 💩
Yay! Sometimes I kind of fool the reader, but other times, it's fun to just come out and say "doodoo."