LewRockwell By Karen Selick
When I toured the ancient ruins of Pompeii some years ago, one of the sites we visited was a public laundry facility in which patrons used to wash their clothes in â of all things â human urine. The business purchased urine from local residents for use in the shop. While this struck me as rather problematic (wouldnât the clothes stink later?) apparently the odor was mitigated by drying them on a flat roof in full sunlight.
According to this article, the ancients used urine for other purposes too, including making toothpaste. Portuguese urine apparently commanded a higher price than Italian, because it was believed to be stronger and better at whitening teeth. (Yes, you read that correctly.)
What fascinated me, however, was that a substance we modern people consider a distasteful waste product, and will pay to get rid of, was under different circumstances regarded as a useful commodity that people would pay good money to obtain.
