12/14/2023 0 Comments Saltpeter militaryFullones (launderers) stomped on the contents to get the dirt out, then rinsed the clothes in water and dried them. Some fullonicae (Roman laundries) obtained their supply of urine directly from public urinals via pipes.Īt the fullonicae, the urine was allowed to rot for three days before being put into vats with piles of dirty clothes. By the 1st century CE, vessels for collecting urine were placed at street corners, outside inns, and inside Roman baths, and the emperor Vespasian even imposed a tax on its collection. Ammonia is one of the central ingredients of modern household cleaners as well, which explains stale urine’s use as a common clothes cleanser in the Roman Empire. Urea decomposes into carbon dioxide and ammonia (that’s what gives urine its pungent smell). Dave & Margie Hill, Flickr // CC BY-SA 2.0 In this stall, laundry workers in ancient Rome cleaned clothes with a mix of urine and clay. The Romans cleaned their clothes with urine. how watery your pee is), pH, and ammonium concentration do come into play, urea is the MVP. Though other factors like urine osmolality (a.k.a. An increase in urea concentration boosts its antibacterial activity. Urine does have an antibacterial property directly correlated to the concentration of urea, the main metabolite in urine. And in 1675, The Accomplish’d Lady’s Delight in Preserving, Physick, Beautifying, and Cookery suggested washing one’s face in urine “ to make it Fair.” (A writer actually tried this in 2016, with mixed results.) Fioravanti quickly urinated on the detached nose before surgically reattaching it to the soldier’s face. He suggested a concoction of stale urine and ashes of roasted oyster shells “ for the cure of eruptions on the bodies of infants."ĭuring the Renaissance, an Italian doctor named Leonardo Fioravanti witnessed a Spanish soldier lose his nose in a brawl. Pliny the Elder recommended urine for treating scorpion stings, snake bites, rabid dog bites, sores, burns, and many other conditions. Urine has been used as an antiseptic for at least 2000 years.īefore modern medicine, when a small wound could potentially end your life, urine emerged as a primitive antiseptic. Here are nine ways in which urine has contributed toward the development of humankind. This smelly, watery, urea-rich fluid comes in different shades of yellow (depending on your water intake) and sometimes green or orange (depending on the medicines you ingest). World War I soldiers in Ypres tied urine-soaked socks to their faces as protection against chemical warfare. David Bowie reportedly kept his in the refrigerator. You may not have realized it, but urine is your body’s own liquid gold, with many surprising uses and qualities.
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