10. Pee Played a Significant Role in the Roman Economy
The use of pee as medicine might seem gross to modern sensibilities. However, in light of urine’s sterile properties – or more precisely the sterile properties of the ammonia contained in urine – such medicinal applications might not have been totally useless. In light of all the uses Romans had for urine, pee collection and resale was an important sector of the economy. And as happens with any economic activity that generates revenue, the urine industry did not escape the attention of the government’s tax collectors – in that, the ancient world was not much different from the modern one.
Ancient Roman tradesmen who specialized in pee collection received special licenses for the privilege and were taxed accordingly. That was when the government did not tax the pissers directly. One of Emperor Vespasian’s revenue schemes involved a tax on public urinals, which was widely ridiculed. When his son argued that revenue from bodily excreta was beneath imperial dignity, Vespasian held a coin beneath his nose and asked whether he could smell any urine. He concluded the lesson with the remark: “money does not smell“, a phrase that became a Latin proverb.
