Oh , the hallowed Roman vomitorium – a disgustful symbol of the Romans ' riches and excess . When they discovered that their belly had become too full to eat another bite , they could simply excuse themselves from the table , visit a nearby vomitorium to purge and then return to the feast . The vomitorium , far from being gross , was common in cultured Roman Catholic society .
Except that it was n’t . Vomitoria did exist in ancient Rome , but ( luckily ) we ’re all wrong about what they were used for . Turns out , a vomitorium had nothing to do with throwing up . rather , it was a full term used in the fourth hundred to describe passageways in public building that " regurgitate " mass in or out of a seats area . The Roman Colosseum , for example , had 76 vomitoria that functioned so efficiently a whopping 50,000 multitude could reach their keister in the stands within 15 minutes .
So why all the confusion ? It may have pop out in the 1920s when a comic by English writer Aldous Huxley include a brief ( and wrong ) mention of the term . Then in 1961 , " The City in History " by Lewis Mumford determine a vomitorium as a room where overeaters could cast up . And , since there seemed to be few unforced to indicate the tip , the definition cohere [ rootage : Butler ] .
But if you call back vomitoria are reserved only for Roman traditional knowledge , retrieve again . In some places , a vomitorium has everything to do with vomiting .
In Vietnam , the vomitorium – in this instance , a sump design to be puked into – is a staple in supersizedbeerclubs popping up all across Ho Chi Minh City . The vomitorium , most often locate in a bathroom , is clearly marked with signs illustrating the cesspit ’s usage , as well as plain instructions like " game over . " In homage to the fictitious vomitoria of ancient Rome , at least one club has larger - than - life history Roman Catholic soldier plastered to its walls [ source : Godfrey ] .
standardized vomitorium sump , colloquially known as " puke goat god , " have been employed for decades in German fraternity planetary house and beer establishments , as well as other country throughout Europe [ author : Antique - photos ] .
While the vomitorium is n’t a young melodic theme , it ’s comfortable to see why there ’s been so much confusion about its diachronic purpose . Whether " spue " guest out of a bowl or beer out of a fraternity member ’s stomach , the vomitorium has made its mug on history .
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