Ancient Roman Emperor Vespasian literally taxed human urine from public toilets. What was it actually used for?

HERE’S THE INTERESTING PART

From the Stacky collection1 min read

Topics in this factromegross

One discovery leads to another.

Keep exploring facts in this topic.

History →

ONE MORE DISCOVERY?

Keep exploring

All in this topic →

History

Vandal King Genseric captured and sacked the city of Rome in 455 CE without having to fight a single major battle by simply negotiating a relatively polite pillaging schedule with the Pope.

Vandal King Genseric captured and sacked the city of Rome in 455 CE without having to fight a single major battle by simply negotiating a relatively polite…

Discover more

History

British spies once used semen as invisible ink

Nothing screams 'For King and Country' quite like mailing your commanding officer a biohazard. During WWI, the British Secret Intelligence Service found that…

Discover more

History

During the terrifying peak of the Black Death, top medical experts urgently advised citizens to stop doing what?

Discover more

History

Ancient Romans built air conditioning into their villas

Wealthy citizens of ancient Rome did not suffer through the blistering Mediterranean summers. They engineered incredible cooling systems by pumping cold…

Discover more

History

How ancient Rome fed hundreds of thousands for free

During the peak of its sprawling empire, Rome enacted an unprecedented social program known as the Cura Annonae, which systematically fed hundreds of…

Discover more

History

Ancient Romans locked doors with keys the size of bananas — literal giant bronze sticks carried on belts.

Picture a Roman citizen jingling down a street with a bronze key nearly as big as a fruit from the market swinging at their waist. These oversized keys…

Discover more

Ancient Roman Emperor Vespasian literally taxed human urine from public toilets. What was it actually used for?

A bigger world.One discoveryat a time.

Keep exploring

Vandal King Genseric captured and sacked the city of Rome in 455 CE without having to fight a single major battle by simply negotiating a relatively polite pillaging schedule with the Pope.

British spies once used semen as invisible ink

During the terrifying peak of the Black Death, top medical experts urgently advised citizens to stop doing what?

Ancient Romans built air conditioning into their villas

How ancient Rome fed hundreds of thousands for free

Ancient Romans locked doors with keys the size of bananas — literal giant bronze sticks carried on belts.

A bigger world.
One discovery
at a time.