33. Big Pee Was Big Biz in Ancient Rome
Pee collection and resale was a big and thriving business in ancient Rome. And as happens with any thriving business that generates revenue, the pee 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 specializing in collecting pee were granted 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-raising schemes involved a tax on public urinals, which was widely ridiculed. When his son argued that collecting 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 by remarking: “money does not smell“, a phrase that became a Latin proverb.
