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by NeedMoreTea 2819 days ago
London, and other towns and cities, had a bit of a shit problem in the 1300s. Streets full of horse and human shit, households throwing their waste into the streets and/or river or if lucky selling it to a nearby cloth dyer, water dangerous to drink so best stick to beer or wine, the serious health risk from floors covered in rushes. OK, if you were posh enough there was a chute from the privvy straight into the moat or river. Oh and the river was where the leftovers from the slaughter houses went.

I think it's fair to say that smell and hygiene expectation was a little different in the middle ages. Cured, if wealthy enough, with a pomander - a ball full of nicely smelly herbs and oils that you carried as portable gas mask.

3 comments

> London, and other towns and cities, had a bit of a shit problem in the 1300s.

Up through the 20th century.

https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofBritain/Great...

https://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/06/09/when-horses-po...

Compared to all the rest, horse manure would be almost nice. It's not that far from just grass, anyway.
Unlike that of most other animals, I don't think horse manure is an intrinsically unpleasant smell. It doesn't bother me.
I see, it's yet another marketing campaign by Big Shit.