Quora Question: "What Did Ancient Romans Eat For Dinner?" (... And Diners' Subsequent Encounter With The Tersorium)

 

Dear Tig,

"Quora" is a mixed bag, exhibiting widely divergent quality from one article to the next.

But it doesn't take long to uncover an interesting question with an equally interesting answer.

I was fascinated by the following Q&A which was emailed to me because a someone recently posted it in one of my "Quora Interest Groups":

Quora Question: "What Did Ancient Romans Eat For Dinner?"

https://newsfrombarbaria.blogspot.com/2021/04/quora-question-what-did-ancient-romans.html

Love

Alan

PS On the topic of "interesting information," I only recently learned about the tersorium in an NPR report. It fascinates me to note my personal reluctance to even mention this fundamental "hygienic" practice of (arguably) the greatest empire the world has ever seen. Of course, Jesus, King David and all the prophets had two-ply toilet paper. (How often do we self-censor matters-of-importance due to social pressure? And to what extent do such social pressures fly entirely below conscious radar?)

Xylospongium/Tersorium

 - Wikipedia  

The xylospongium or tersorium, also known as sponge on a stick, was a hygienic utensil used by ancient Romans to wipe their anus after defecating, consisting of a wooden stick (Greek: ξύλον, xylon) with a sea sponge (Greek: σπόγγος, spongos) fixed at one end. The tersorium was shared by people using public latrines.

(I'm sure there's a Trump meme in all this...)

PPS Reading up on the tesorium reminds me that until the Industrial Revolution (c. 1750), half of all human beings died by age 8. And until a century later, humans lived half their lives with toothache.

  "Natural History is the antidote for piety." 

Gregory Bateson