For people in industrialized countries, taking a dump is a very private affair. It doesn’t matter if you’re in North America where using toilet paper to clean yourself is the norm, or if you are in Europe, northeast Asia, or southern South America where bidets are more commonly used to clean up—pooing is done alone!
But this isn’t the case everywhere. In numerous developing countries, such as India, many people live in places without proper sanitation and are therefore forced to poo in public. It isn’t as much of a taboo to drop a deuce in public in these places as it is in industrialized countries, though having a private bathroom remains preferable.
But people haven’t always thought this way. The ancient Romans, who are often considered among the most “modern” of all the ancient peoples, made going number two a communal experience. That’s right, the same people who invented concrete, fire departments, and the world’s first newspapers also had no problem pooing in public.
You may be aware that the Romans developed an extensive aqueduct system that brought running water into many of the elite’s homes, and you may also know that they built extensive sewers under the streets of Rome. Often, what went into those sewers was human waste from one of the city’s many public toilets.
By the fourth century AD, there were over one hundred forty public toilets—which were usually located next to the many public baths—scattered throughout Rome. The size of the public toilets could range from about ten pots to several times that amount. The toilets were pretty simple; they were basically just a series of open holes along a long bench where the men would sit to relieve themselves and talk to their fellow relievers or cacatori (“shitters”). The larger public toilets would sometimes have musicians to cover the bodily noises and baskets of fragrances to mask the putrid smell. Public toilets were something the Romans exported to the farthest reaches of their empire: from Britain to Turkey and all points in between, Roman public toilets have been excavated.
Of course, all Roman homes came equipped with facilities as well. The wealthy had toilets that emptied into the city’s sewer system, while the less wealthy would have to use a commode/chamber pot. So, for many Roman men, taking a dump in public became something of a social occasion. It was a way to catch up on local news and maybe even make a business deal.
But the public toilets were strictly a man’s world. Women were not allowed, and there were no “women only” public toilets.
The ladies had to wait until they got home.