Uploaded June 2021 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
Did you know some Vikings carried around little spoons they used to clean out their ears? Or that some ancient Egyptians used a kind of early breath mint to smell better?
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Too often, many of us assume of past societies were dirty and germ-infested, but truthfully, there’s a lot of ancient hygiene practices which were surprisingly inventive. And some, like the Xylospongium which are maybe better left in the past. From Greece to the Aztec Empire, here are six curious and imaginative practices from around the ancient world you might not have heard of before.
0:00 Intro
0:33 Viking Ear-Spoons
1:03 Egyptian Breath Mints (Kapets)
1:35 Roman Laundromat (Fullonicae)
2:18 Greek Strigil
2:52 Greek & Roman Xylospongium
3:23 Chinese Paper
3:52 Aztec Deodorant
4:25 Outro
Sources:
Viking Hygiene - Joshua J. Mark: worldhistory.org/article/1840/viking-hygiene-clothing--jewelry
Egyptian Breath Mints - Brian Handwerk: smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/halitosis-horrors-how-bad-breath-became-americas-worst-nightmare-180962104
Roman Laundry - Joshua J. Mark: worldhistory.org/article/46/the-fullers-of-ancient-rome
Xylospongium - Peter Preskar: short-history.com/xylospongium-debe5899fb49
History of Toilet Paper - Ollie Lyon: plumbworld.co.uk/blog/the-history-of-toilet-paper-from-ancient-china-to-your-bathroom-wall
Aztec Deodorant - mexicolore.co.uk/aztecs/home/clean-aztecs-dirty-spaniards
Most images from Wikimedia Commons
Photo Credit (1:47) – Rafael-Jiménez @flickr.com
♫ 'The Age Of Wood' by Savfk is under a Creative Commons license (CC BY 3.0) Music promoted by BreakingCopyright: youtu.be/Q6CRmIXcrxw ♫
#history #vikings #archaeology
Did you know some Vikings carried around little spoons they used to clean out their ears? Or that some ancient Egyptians used a kind of early breath mint to smell better?
Subscribe to stay up to date with The Archive: youtube.com/channel/UCweDKPSF65wRw5VHFUJYiow?sub_confirmation=1
Too often, many of us assume of past societies were dirty and germ-infested, but truthfully, there’s a lot of ancient hygiene practices which were surprisingly inventive. And some, like the Xylospongium which are maybe better left in the past. From Greece to the Aztec Empire, here are six curious and imaginative practices from around the ancient world you might not have heard of before.
0:00 Intro
0:33 Viking Ear-Spoons
1:03 Egyptian Breath Mints (Kapets)
1:35 Roman Laundromat (Fullonicae)
2:18 Greek Strigil
2:52 Greek & Roman Xylospongium
3:23 Chinese Paper
3:52 Aztec Deodorant
4:25 Outro
Sources:
Viking Hygiene - Joshua J. Mark: worldhistory.org/article/1840/viking-hygiene-clothing--jewelry
Egyptian Breath Mints - Brian Handwerk: smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/halitosis-horrors-how-bad-breath-became-americas-worst-nightmare-180962104
Roman Laundry - Joshua J. Mark: worldhistory.org/article/46/the-fullers-of-ancient-rome
Xylospongium - Peter Preskar: short-history.com/xylospongium-debe5899fb49
History of Toilet Paper - Ollie Lyon: plumbworld.co.uk/blog/the-history-of-toilet-paper-from-ancient-china-to-your-bathroom-wall
Aztec Deodorant - mexicolore.co.uk/aztecs/home/clean-aztecs-dirty-spaniards
Most images from Wikimedia Commons
Photo Credit (1:47) – Rafael-Jiménez @flickr.com
♫ 'The Age Of Wood' by Savfk is under a Creative Commons license (CC BY 3.0) Music promoted by BreakingCopyright: youtu.be/Q6CRmIXcrxw ♫
#history #vikings #archaeology
