Strange But True: Facts about Romans

1.  Purple clothing was reserved for emperors or senators. It was treason for anyone other than the emperor to dress completely in purple.

2.  Left-handed people were considered unlucky.

3.  Emperor Caligula often appeared in public dressed in women’s clothing.

 4.  Caligula’s favorite horse, Incitatus, lived in a marble stable, with an ivory manger. Caligula also tried to make him a consul, the most important job in the government.

5.  Romans thought the early Christians were practicing cannibalism when they heard about them eating the body and blood of Christ.

6.  People would socialize at communal toilets (shown above). Rome had over 140 public toilets.

7.  Wealthy Romans would have extravagant banquets that lasted for hours.  In order to continue eating, they would make themselves vomit.

8.  Roman women dyed their hair.  Blonde and red were the most popular colors.

9.  Only free-born Roman men as a were allowed to wear togas.

10.  Urine was used to clean clothes.  The ammonia helped get stains out.