No, You Don't Actually Want To Travel Back In Time

Have you ever fantasized about going back in time? Many of us have a romantic image of historic eras like ancient Greece or Rome. However, when you stop and think about it, the level of sanitation and personal hygiene (or lack thereof) that was considered normal at that time should be enough to dissuade you. Aristotle may be your hero, but there's no way he smelled okay by today's standards. Here are 20 disgusting things that used to be a part of everyday life. 

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1. Chamber Pots

Before sewer systems were invented, everyone just did their business in a dish called a chamber pot. That pot would just sit around stinking up the room until you dumped it, often out a window into the street.

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2. Spitting Indoors

It's not clear to us why people were so into spitting back in the day, but it was common to spit mucus or tobacco on the floor and walls. They even had "spittoons:" basins filled with saliva, placed around.

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3. Doctors Not Washing Hands

Doctors didn't understand the merits of hand washing and rarely cleaned up between patients. Of course, this resulted in deadly diseases and infections from wounds spreading from person to person.

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4. Dentistry Didn't Exist

Although there was some faint understanding of tooth decay as early as the 7th century BC, dentistry as a formal profession didn't exist until the 1800s and you better believe no one was brushing their teeth until then. 

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5. Sharing Bathwater

In the olden days, people didn't necessarily have bathtubs to clean themselves in their own homes. The most common method of bathing was in public bathhouses where the water was rarely changed. 

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6. Open Sewers

Many cities didn't have their sewers hidden below ground like we now have. Instead, they were just open, flowing through the streets. The smell would've been horrific.

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7. Leaded Gasoline

In the early days of cars, gasoline contained lead. Lead is not only poisonous, but it also contributes heavily to air pollution, making the air smell anything but fresh.

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8. Bloodletting As Medicine

Doctors used to believe that draining a person's blood was a good way to cure them. This practice, called bloodletting, was used for centuries. It would leave patients weaker and more susceptible to disease. 

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9. No Regular Washing

Washing regularly wasn't common until the 19th century, and even then it was only a weekly habit. The body odor prior to then would've been next level.

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10. No Refrigeration

Refrigeration wasn't invented until 1750 and even then, it wouldn't have been a fixture in people's homes until the early 20th century. As such, food would've been left out, covered in flies and maggots and slowly rotting.

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11. Maggots Used To Treat Wounds

As maggots feed on bacteria, they used to be used to treat people's wounds, preventing infection. Even though there is science backing this practice, it doesn't make it any less gross. 

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12. Animal Fat Used As Soap & Lotion

Can you imagine slathering pork lard on your body to moisturize your skin? Animal fat was commonly used for this purpose, leaving a rancid smell after a while.

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13. Unclean Drinking Water

Nowadays, we're used to our clean and clear filtered water. However, this is a relatively new concept. Drinking water from 200 or 300 years ago would've looked like it was filled with dirt to us.

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14. Open-Air Meat Markets

Going to pick up some meat at the butcher before refrigeration existed would've been a very different experience. Butchers would hang their meat up at room temperature, uncovered, attracting all kinds of bacteria and insects.

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15. Corpses In The Streets

When a plague or war hit, bodies would be piled up in the streets, sometimes remaining there for days before being carted off. In addition to being horrific, this was highly unhygienic, spreading disease and stench. 

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16. No Toilet Paper

Toilet paper wasn't invented until the mid-19th century, meaning that until that time people would use whatever leaves they could find. This of course didn't leave that area particularly clean. 

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17. Urine Was Used To Whiten Teeth

Ancient Romans used urine to clean their teeth. It sounds disgusting but as urine contains ammonia, a common ingredient in household cleaners, it might've actually been effective.

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18. Milk Transfusions As Medicine

At some point in the 19th century, doctors somehow became convinced that milk was a good substitute for blood. Before they understood blood types, when people were injured and losing lots of blood, they were pretty much screwed. Doctors started using cow's milk for transfusions but the results were not positive.

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19. Human Waste As Fertilizer

It used to be common practice to use human waste in the garden as fertilizer for plants. However, because it can contain disease-carrying pathogens, it wasn't super successful unless treated first. Not to mention, the stench it would've caused. 

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20. Lice & Flea Infestations Were Normal

Without normal washing and with unsanitary living conditions, lice and flea infestations were completely normal. Imagine people walking around with bugs crawling around their scalps. 

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