• iegod@lemmy.zip
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      7 days ago

      Fascinating there’s disagreement over its usage, meaning the records aren’t very good. Detailing the mundane is actually important.

            • OwOarchist@pawb.social
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              8 days ago

              A) There definitely will be ‘debris’ in that sponge. It would be very difficult to thoroughly wash all of it out of a sponge, and for sure there are going to be some lazy motherfuckers using it before you who barely even bothered to try.

              B) Have you heard of this little thing called bacteria? Rubbing other people’s bacteria on your bodily orifices is generally not a great idea if you want to avoid disease.

          • Test_Tickles@lemmy.world
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            6 days ago

            Trump? Huh, what do you know, I guess he is old enough to fit the part. It also might explain his pee fetish. And the Roman’s were also known for being pedos… Oh yeah, then there’s the whole homosexual “blowing Bubba” thing.
            Wow it would be hard to argue against you on that one.

    • bedwyr@piefed.ca
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      8 days ago

      Yes, a communal sponge in a container of water, flowing if available, does seem a little offputting to us. Yet after their corruption destroyed the empire, we had 1600 years of using the hand, or presumably random plant matter.

      Paper making was learned from Marco Polo, paper making in a modern sense. From China, but they never improved the process much because labour is cheap and fuck the peasants.

      • schipelblorp@sh.itjust.works
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        8 days ago

        Wikipedia says the sponge might have been kept in vinegar or salt water, so it would be kinda-sorta sterile.

        I’m guessing romans used plant matter at home, though; seems the sponge was just for high traffic public restrooms.

        And, having visited some American cities, I’ll take a public bathroom with a sponge over that awkward glance on the way to the bathroom while I pretend to be a customer.

        • bedwyr@piefed.ca
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          8 days ago

          Right, and as a fellow low tech brewer of alcohol I can see how they have that much vinegar. Alcohol below 5% can get taken by vinegar, that eats it.

      • Axolotl@feddit.it
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        7 days ago

        Wikipedia also says that it could’ve just been a toilet brush, which in my opinion makes more sense