• PugJesus@lemmy.worldOPMEnglish
    60·
    13 hours ago

    Explanation: Roman public latrines were, counterintuitively to modern Western cultural norms, places for socialization while you did your, ahem, business. Rather than desperately trying to avoid eye contact with anyone in or out of the latrines, it was common to take a seat next to someone, strike up some conversation; even play a quick game of tic-tac-toe between the seats! The Roman poet Martial even wrote a short poem making fun of a man who was lingering in the public latrines all day - not because of intestinal issues, but because he hoped (not entirely absurdly) to score a dinner invitation (free food!) by making small talk with his fellow shitters!

    • taiyang@lemmy.worldEnglish
      25·
      20 hours ago

      You say counterintuitive, but I dare ask: how many social media users are on the can right now? Shitting might be more of a social activity than people care to admit.

      • PugJesus@lemmy.worldOPMEnglish
        5·
        13 hours ago

        Fuck me, fixed it. It’s Martial, not Juvenal, I was mistaken.

        In omnibus Vacerra quod conclavibus

        Consumit horas et die toto sedet,

        Cenaturit Vacerra , non cacaturit.

        Epigrams, Book 11, Epigram 77

        A poetic translation being given as

        In privies Vacerra consumes the hours;

        the whole day does he sit;

        Vacerra wants to dine,

        he does not want to shit

        • U de Recife@literature.cafeEnglish
          3·
          13 hours ago

          Thanks. No harm done. I also mix up authors names at times.

          Thanks for the precise references. I love learning about ancient ways. Some parts of their lives seem so alien to us today.