Posted on 01/08/2016 1:49:16 AM PST by SunkenCiv
The Romans are well known for introducing sanitation technology to Europe around 2,000 years ago, including public multi-seat latrines with washing facilities, sewerage systems, piped drinking water from aqueducts, and heated public baths for washing. Romans also developed laws designed to keep their towns free of excrement and rubbish.
However, new archaeological research has revealed that -- for all their apparently hygienic innovations -- intestinal parasites such as whipworm, roundworm and Entamoeba histolytica dysentery did not decrease as expected in Roman times compared with the preceding Iron Age, they gradually increased...
Dr Piers Mitchell brought together evidence of parasites in ancient latrines, human burials and 'coprolites' -- or fossilised faeces -- as well as in combs and textiles from numerous Roman Period excavations across the Roman Empire.
Not only did certain intestinal parasites appear to increase in prevalence with the coming of the Romans, but Mitchell also found that, despite their famous culture of regular bathing, 'ectoparasites' such as lice and fleas were just as widespread among Romans as in Viking and medieval populations, where bathing was not widely practiced.
(Excerpt) Read more at popular-archaeology.com ...
Had heard of that.
American Standard ME catalogue had a fixture which was basically a porcelain floor square with center hole and foot indents on either side.
Rope optional.
;>)
This 2012 show is amusing, it popped up on the Roku menu for History Channel and H2, and the first episode has a “odds of dying” discussion that gets down to the nitty gritty — the kitchen is the worst, that the seat on your toilet is cleaner than the top of the stove or the counters.
United Stats of America 2012 Season 1 Episode 1
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z_WqL6WOVuY
United Stats of America - Deadliest Animal in the US
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=05n4NkqUsTk
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