it is easy to think of the ancient people as dirty filthy scum that cared little about their personal hygiene but that is surprisingly far from accurate so let's dive in but before we do I want you to note the number of ancient civilizations I cover and write it in the comments section below we begin with hygiene in ancient Egypt today our news feed especially from major news outlets fills our screens with pictures of poor people looking dirty and unkempt thus we easily assume that has always been the case since time in Memorial but history reveals the opposite the ancient Egyptians had a penion for the extraordinary and that included taking care of their bodies for them life was one big party and what better way to celebrate it than to always be clean and neat they shave their hair bathe daily use Cosmetics to enhance their looks and topped it off with perfumes that you could smell miles away however it didn't end there existing records indicate that the ancient Egyptians used breath mints so they wouldn't choke each other with bad breath now it appears that they had better hygienic practices than the average American so I dug deeper to find out why and here's their secret according to the Egyptian Book of the Dead anyone with poor hygiene lost their voice in the afterlife they couldn't communicate with other Souls not even through sign language which makes sense imagine the stench that would emanate from the breath of a soul who refused breath Min their entire lives that odor would crush any Spirit now on to a lesser known but sophisticated ancient civilization the Indus Valley this South Asian civilization is not as famous for its personal hygiene as it is for its Public Health they built extensive and intricate sewage systems that ensured that human waste products such as poo and urine were disposed out of town they also DED themselves in public and private baths depending on their choice and scraped filth off their backs Courtyard houses were fitted with bathing platforms and a dedicated one-hole toilet facility which was a far cry from today's WC toilet but still did the job perfectly after one went to the L they flush the Poo Away by pouring water down the hole through a shared brick pipe into a nearby cess pit the weirdest part of the system was watching your poo take a long slide down the brick pipe sort of like being on a Helter Skelter uh no not that Helter Skelter this one sadly I know a few weird friends who enjoy this stomach churning spectacle so can we comfortably call the indis Valley sanitation system the predecessor to our modern sewage system let me know your thoughts in the comments section while you're at it let me regail you with the personal and public hygiene practices of the ancient Romans ancient Rome is famous for its large aqueducts that were carefully designed to supply water to the city and flush waste through the sewage system thus the city was rid of all the smelly human hazardous waste that would have made it a living hell even on the battlefield soldiers were provided with latrines and bathouses but I can't tell you if they took a shower before or after every battle I'd rather leave that to your imagination away from the battlefield public baths were scattered across the city with the Romans plunging themselves every now and then into warm Waters to rid themselves of filth records indicate that the largest bath could hold up to 3,000 people but that came with its own set of health concerns these public baths were notorious for breeding lice intestinal worms fungi and bacteria now don't get me wrong in principle the Romans had high hygienic standards which was reflected in their extensive drainage systems but in practice their sanitation left much to be desired for example bathouses didn't change the bath water regularly and rarely Ed disinfectants thus the majority of people who utilized them suffered one infection or another to prevent the infestation of lice ancient Romans shaved regularly and also applied scented oils to improve their skin and appearance and to keep their breath fresh they used powdered Mouse brains as toothpaste well that's enough to make even Mickey Mouse squirm a bit I seriously doubt that's a delicacy available today at Disneyland and I'm just curious how they convince the kids to brush their teeth H so I'm not too sure of its efficacy however you can try it and let us know how it goes we'd appreciate it the ancient Romans had issues with following their strict hygienic principles but the Chinese obeyed theirs religiously I mean these people could literally wash their hands five times a day as stipulated in their books bath houses and bathrooms were a luxury for the super rich so they average Chinese took their baths every fifth day and washed their hair every third day however exceptions were made for visitors as they were required to take baths before sitting down to a warm meal as the years went by the ancient Chinese discovered bath beans which added extra levels of luxury and comfort to their bath routines these beans were made from natural herbs flowers and essential oils that filled the air with sweet smelling fragrances I know you would be wondering if Modern Bath beans were similar to ancient ones well the answer is yes and no you see the ancient Chinese bath beans were made from natural herbs and oils while the modern ones are usually made from synthetic products but they all perform the same function providing a luxurious bathing experience so material-wise they are different but functionally they are the same regardless Calgon take me away the ancient Greeks on the other hand did a relatively good job of personal and public hygiene being a deeply religious civilization the Greeks dedicated a goddess to cleanliness known as hygia and yes you guessed right the word hygiene descended from the goddess for sub incorrectly I promise another intriguing video so stay tuned many modern Scholars attribute current hygienic standards to ancient Greece because of its adherence to strict hygienic practices in fact the Greek saw it as essential to maintaining good health and well-being like the Romans the Greeks loved their public BS and had a variety of them Hot Springs steam baths and bathtubs they often used olive oils as soap in combination with a small curved blade to scrape off the dirt on their bodies According to some historians the Greeks were among the first to invent the modern toilet where you sit comfortably and attend to Nature's call the seat was made of wood over a clay bowl and the Poo was flushed with water down a stone sewage system once the deed was done they wiped themselves with pieces of pebble or ceramic pottering now let me tell you a funny story during a recent excavation of the ancient town of monoa archaeologists found some of these Pebbles with names written on them they concluded that those who used them might have written the names of their enemies on the Pebbles before wiping their bottom that's one way to punish your haters so guys you know what to do the next time an online bully unleashes unprovoked insults under your social media posts or comments or you can order toilet paper with a printed photo of the enemy I'm I'm sure you'll find it on Amazon this baffles me how did they come up with the mouse brain idea I'm still trying to figure that one out but just so you know cleanliness has been a core part of us since the beginning of time check out some of the world's oldest religions and you'll find hygiene as a core part of their worship take for example Islam at the heart of this abrahamic faith is the call to both outer and inner cleanliness which is why water is a key part of the religion Muslims are instructed to pray five times a day but before each prayer is a physical cleansing process called ablution which also has spiritual connotations thus they wash themselves five times a day and each time after visiting the toilet they always remember to wash themselves before and after satisfying their carnal desires and after touching anything their religion describes as unclean interestingly this is had a positive impact on Islamic societies as they are usually Clean and Free of dirt far from theil that has engulfed some major cities across the globe now do you remember the challenge to note the number of ancient civilizations I covered you can write them down in the comment box a little hint You may be wrong by 200 have fun when you're done check out this video on dirty secrets of ancient Beauty and I'll see you there and until next time thanks ever so much for watching