[mass55th]

In the really olden days, people used to collect urine, let it set around a while, then wash their clothes in it. The ammonia in the urine was what made your whites whiter. I wonder how many times they rinsed their clothes back then. Maybe they all smelled of pi$$.

[RooRoobird20]

In the really olden days, people used to collect urine, let it set around a while, then wash their clothes in it.

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Yes, as far back as the ancient Roman times!! Mr. Roo Roo and I took a guided tour of Pompeii, and we saw the remains of a laundry service that were still in place. There were a couple of large shallow tubs where the laundry and urine would be placed and workers would stomp around on the laundry, much like stomping grapes to make wine. Being a laundry stomper was not considered a desirable job—the urine smelled really bad and was irritating to the stompers’ feet.

According to our guide, the laundry service would accept just about any kind of urine, but supposedly zebra and giraffe urine were greatly coveted. After washing laundry in urine and rinsing, the laundry would be “smoked” to help get rid of the ammonia/urine smell.