TYHH GM

19/03/2022

17/02/2022

Long before American politicians on both sides of the aisle were arguing over health care and other government-subsidized commodities, the Romans were happily doling out portions of free grain to the city's poorest citizens. The policy, called Cura Annonae, advanced as the empire grew, eventually offering these portions to citizens outside the city. By the 3rd century C.E., the empire was no longer just distributing grain, but bread, olive oil, wine, and even pork.

17/02/2022

You think your commute is bad? Traffic in Ancient Rome started at the a.m. rush hour…and carried all the way into the night. To take it from 1st-century scribe Decimus Iunius Iuvenalis—which means taking it with a massive grain of salt, as Iuvenalis was a well-known satirist—the traffic literally caused in multiple deaths, as a result of insomnia due to noise pollution. And you thought 295 was bad…

17/02/2022

When it comes to bread, the Romans were revolutionary beyond inventing the water-powered mill. They also popularized yeasted bread for the first time in history and even formed baker's guilds that catered to wealthy citizens. High demands for white bread led to the invention of the first mechanical dough mixer. (Though, at the time, "mechanical" meant: powered by donkeys and horses.)

17/02/2022

Someone would have invented it sooner or later, but in fact, it's the Romans we have to thanks for indoor plumbing. Though they didn't perfect it (toilets were usually in kitchens and lead pipes often caused lead poisoning), they were the first to install a network of pipes in the home. The pipes were used to move waste, but were also used to move water in the hotter months as a way to keep cool indoors. The Romans are also responsible for inventing the sewer system, though most indoor plumbing systems didn't actually lead to the sewer

17/02/2022

You might think the shopping mall is a uniquely American innovation. (Just ask the 42 million annual visitors to the Mall of America, in Minneapolis.) But the world's very first shopping mall dates back to the first century C.E. Trajan's Market—named after Trajan, one of the so-called Five Good Emperors—featured more than 150 individual shops and offices.

17/02/2022

If you've ever been stuck in the nosebleed seats at Gillette Stadium, blame the Romans. According to a report in Sports Illustrated, stadiums and arenas today are largely influenced by the stadiums and arenas of Ancient Rome. (It should be noted, however, that the design of Roman stadiums was a bit derivative of the amphitheaters that populated the landscape of Ancient Greece.

17/02/2022

When it comes to raising children, modern parents face some of the same problems as ancient parents, especially since the trope of rebellious youth was present even in the Roman Age. Parents of wild teenagers will be able to relate to Cicero, whose son, Marcus, regularly skipped his university lectures to go out drinking and partying. From Rome's chariot races to free-flowing wine, it's easy to see how the young Marcus could be easily distracted.