Aha Lantern: romans washed clothes in urine
Two thousand years ago, the busiest shop in a Roman town was the fullonica, the laundry, and its secret ingredient was human urine collected from clay pots on street corners. It worked: urine breaks down into ammonia, the same chemistry in modern cleaners. Urine was so valuable emperors taxed it, and when his son complained, Vespasian held up a coin: Pecunia non olet. Money doesn't stink.
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