Roman/ancient history: Checkmate, Atenists

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Crab Dad: Dec 28, 2002; behold i have tempered and refined thee, but not as silver; as CRAB

Cyrano4747 posted:

I haven't seen any specifics yet on how the big rocks -> little rocks step between the thermal cracking and smelting was done, though.

Find a good crack in a rock and jam wood stakes in it. Soak the area with water then wait over night.

# ¿ Aug 5, 2014 20:45

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# ¿ May 10, 2024 09:17

Crab Dad: Dec 28, 2002; behold i have tempered and refined thee, but not as silver; as CRAB

Cyrano4747 posted:

Nah, I was referring to the step AFTER that. I guess I should have said medium -> small rocks. It was in response to the guy who hypothesized that they probably had water-driven crushing mills. I didn't find any info as to whether those were a thing yet or an invention of the middle ages; basically whether they had mills to speed up turning the rocks into gravel prior to smelting or if it was just slaves beating on them with hammers.

I'd say slaves beating on them with hammers, with other slaves beating on them with canes in order to beat faster.

# ¿ Aug 5, 2014 22:50

Crab Dad: Dec 28, 2002; behold i have tempered and refined thee, but not as silver; as CRAB

I'm always suprised with how cheap an short life was that more land owners didn't get the sharp end of a pruner in the guys.

# ¿ Aug 6, 2014 18:05

Crab Dad: Dec 28, 2002; behold i have tempered and refined thee, but not as silver; as CRAB

Yeah times were tough. Rich merchants could usually only afford one tiddler and he had to do double duty as their boot stool.

# ¿ Aug 20, 2014 06:11

Crab Dad: Dec 28, 2002; behold i have tempered and refined thee, but not as silver; as CRAB

I seem to recall my wife having some sort of plastic nipple shield to prevent the worst damage.

# ¿ Sep 9, 2014 05:04

Crab Dad: Dec 28, 2002; behold i have tempered and refined thee, but not as silver; as CRAB

There's a papyrus scroll at the San Fransisco de young museum showing children doing obscene things to adults under a royal banquet table.

Ancients are weird.

# ¿ Sep 10, 2014 12:56

Crab Dad: Dec 28, 2002; behold i have tempered and refined thee, but not as silver; as CRAB

Exioce posted:

Egyptian?

Yup. Had a photo on my old phone. It was next to a statue of a little dog loving a giant bitch so it could have been a collection of sex in the ancient world.

# ¿ Sep 10, 2014 22:38

Crab Dad: Dec 28, 2002; behold i have tempered and refined thee, but not as silver; as CRAB

LordSaturn posted:

I don't get how cabbage-water with salt and cumin is supposed to make you vomit.

EDIT: vvv What an appropriate quip for the antiquity megathread!

Cabbages of yor most likely had a ton more sulfur in them. Only most recently did a lot of the bitterness get bred out of them. So it was basically sulfur water. Puke city.

# ¿ Sep 13, 2014 03:04

Crab Dad: Dec 28, 2002; behold i have tempered and refined thee, but not as silver; as CRAB

I don't get it?

# ¿ Sep 14, 2014 00:10

Crab Dad: Dec 28, 2002; behold i have tempered and refined thee, but not as silver; as CRAB

Pimpmust posted:

Or random people (mostly for slavery).

Kinda big investment with high risk to spend so many years bringing up a child merely for profit.

Much easier to just trail behind some legions and buy up war plundered slaves.

# ¿ Sep 15, 2014 23:44

Crab Dad: Dec 28, 2002; behold i have tempered and refined thee, but not as silver; as CRAB

Tunicate posted:

Yeah we had to read a book in English class written by one of those guys. White people were made by a black mad scientist as pure evil supersoldiers or something.

They can't even jump why would they be superior super soldiers? Makes no sense.

# ¿ Sep 18, 2014 04:21

Crab Dad: Dec 28, 2002; behold i have tempered and refined thee, but not as silver; as CRAB

What the...

I always knew horses were a bad thing.

# ¿ Sep 18, 2014 20:21

Crab Dad: Dec 28, 2002; behold i have tempered and refined thee, but not as silver; as CRAB

So I'm not the first person to fart on my cat.

# ¿ Oct 22, 2014 15:19

Crab Dad: Dec 28, 2002; behold i have tempered and refined thee, but not as silver; as CRAB

Silver2195 posted:

Still gross, but not really comparable to literally castrating boys to enjoy raping them more.

Uh yeah catholic priests would never do that.

# ¿ Nov 1, 2014 22:42

Crab Dad: Dec 28, 2002; behold i have tempered and refined thee, but not as silver; as CRAB

Ok I was in class today and a terrible argument came up. It's possible someone has come across the results here.

Did any instances of fights occur between a gorilla and a bear during Ancient Rome?

# ¿ Apr 16, 2015 18:22

Crab Dad: Dec 28, 2002; behold i have tempered and refined thee, but not as silver; as CRAB

Slim Jim Pickens posted:

The Carthaginians claim to have skinned a couple of gorillas during their voyages South, but I'm puzzled by how they describe gorillas as furry, ill-tempered humans.

And you know some idiot tried to have sex with one. Because humans.

# ¿ Apr 17, 2015 11:18

Crab Dad: Dec 28, 2002; behold i have tempered and refined thee, but not as silver; as CRAB

Halloween Jack posted:

Aren't orangutans strong enough to literally rip humans to pieces?I don't see that going well.

If the ape is willing you better be drilling.

Or else. Ooh Ooh!

# ¿ Apr 20, 2015 18:37

Crab Dad: Dec 28, 2002; behold i have tempered and refined thee, but not as silver; as CRAB

Squalid posted:

There is also at least one reliable record of a wild male orangutan committing forced sexual intercourse with a human, although that was in the context of long-term observation which may have reduced the orangutan's natural aversion towards humans.

I personally saw a 40lb porcupine jump on his keepers head, piss on her then madly humping her skull. Animals get weird with their keepers.

For the record I was too busy laughing to help out with the porcupine extraction. Didn't like the person anyways and nobody ever died from getting their face raped by a porcupine. Well.... I guess. (She didnt even get quilled).

# ¿ Apr 21, 2015 00:04

Crab Dad: Dec 28, 2002; behold i have tempered and refined thee, but not as silver; as CRAB

Jerusalem posted:

Let's not forget the filthy porn the BBC likes to air!

I...uh...thank you?

# ¿ Apr 21, 2015 04:57

Crab Dad: Dec 28, 2002; behold i have tempered and refined thee, but not as silver; as CRAB

Aztecs largest mammal they ate on a regular basis was deer. Turkeys were not the worthless monsters they are today but were certainly domesticated. They also farmed salamanders and small dogs for food.

# ¿ Apr 28, 2015 22:17

Crab Dad: Dec 28, 2002; behold i have tempered and refined thee, but not as silver; as CRAB

Squalid posted:

Eh... Everything you've said is correct, but I'd like to beg a little patience for those of us who are compelled to point out that Racism Did Not Exist in the classical world every time this subject comes up. I'm always happy to repeat the point because it's politically useful, i.e. by pointing out that race literally did not exist before the Modern Era, it demonstrates how our modern understanding of the subject is arbitrary and sometimes nonsensical.

Growing up immersed western culture it can be hard to understand that race is synonymous with tribe, ethnicity, and nationality, but is NOT a biological concept. It is not synonymous with the darwinian concept of a population, nor with the genetic concept of a Haplogroup. The definitions and bounds of race are inconsistent and protean. For example, the U.S. census would classify this fellow:

As a white man, because North Africans are defined by the census bureau as Caucasians. This man:

as a Brazilian, could choose between Hispanic-White, Hispanic-Black, Hispanic-etc because race is defined differently in Latin America and this guy:

You should recognize immediately as an African American.

In reality, your perception of these people's race will have more to do with how they dress, their accent, and other cultural signifiers than where their ancestors actually came from.

He's black. Anyone in the deep south could tell you that.

# ¿ May 1, 2015 05:05

Crab Dad: Dec 28, 2002; behold i have tempered and refined thee, but not as silver; as CRAB

BravestOfTheLamps posted:

Don't worry, I'm sure some of it will show up on the black market, then when things calm down we can buy it all and rebuild it.

Carpet bomb it now so we can at least kill them for their near future crimes.

# ¿ May 21, 2015 00:23

Crab Dad: Dec 28, 2002; behold i have tempered and refined thee, but not as silver; as CRAB

Kaal posted:

This is actually an urban myth. UTIs are fundamentally caused by inflammation and irritation causing the body to generate an infection. No external fungi is necessary, and indeed it is fairly unlikely to have any particular impact (especially since the genitals are normally sealed when not engaged in sex). And Oophoritis isn't something that is caused by swimming.

Again, these aren't things that women are any more susceptible to than men. And I seriously doubt that Roman baths had any particular amount of E. Coli in them since the bacteria needs a host to survive and propagate. Basically I'd say that it's a known fact that the baths were extremely popular and fairly hygienic, so it seems unlikely that they were also disease hotspots. I'd file this alongside the idea that Roman aqueducts were actually poisoning the population with lead for hundreds of years - possible, but probably more indicative of a lack of contextual awareness on our part about how they actually functioned.

Dirty water will kill you faster than lead poisoning from pipes will in anycase.

# ¿ Jun 24, 2015 22:48

Crab Dad: Dec 28, 2002; behold i have tempered and refined thee, but not as silver; as CRAB

Silent Linguist posted:

Ooh! I watched her recreation of the Vestal hairdo and it's pretty amazing.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eA9JYWh1r7U

(e: I have an ongoing nail polish collection based on Roman festivals if anyone here likes that sort of thing.)

This is great. Thanks.

# ¿ Jun 25, 2015 18:08

Crab Dad: Dec 28, 2002; behold i have tempered and refined thee, but not as silver; as CRAB

Kopijeger posted:

A pool in a Pompeii bathhouse:

Indeed there doesn't seem to be any opening for draining the pool, which seems strange: with all their aqueducts and piping, did it never occur to anyone to install pipes to carry away dirty water?

Pfffft who needs pipes when you got slaves with buckets?

# ¿ Jun 25, 2015 18:08

Crab Dad: Dec 28, 2002; behold i have tempered and refined thee, but not as silver; as CRAB

Disinterested posted:

How can DNA evidence prove peaceful co-existence?

I dunno. The only thing I can think of is DNA tracers from the male sides of roman-brits(is this even a thing? I grew up with CSI:Las Vegas) showing that they coupled with Saxon women(highly unlikely). Because the first thing I'm doing as King Saxon-Barbarian is killing all the men and raping all the women then putting them to work on my looms and pastures.

# ¿ Jun 26, 2015 17:52

Crab Dad: Dec 28, 2002; behold i have tempered and refined thee, but not as silver; as CRAB

Munin posted:

I find it rather amusing that it took nine Emperors before one actually managed to pass on the Empire to his own actual son rather than adopted heir or other relative.

Picking your successors as opposed to being forced to use your retarded son seems better.

# ¿ Jun 29, 2015 01:18

Crab Dad: Dec 28, 2002; behold i have tempered and refined thee, but not as silver; as CRAB

uPen posted:

Sure, if you actually pick based on merit rather than picking your sociopathic grand-nephew because you never had a son.

If you can't notice that in him before making him regent you deserve to have your line die out. I'd have a much easier time having my nephew die in a hunting accident than my own retarded son.

# ¿ Jun 29, 2015 01:31

Crab Dad: Dec 28, 2002; behold i have tempered and refined thee, but not as silver; as CRAB

Hogge Wild posted:

Image leeching is only allowed from your own sites. While image linking from Wikipedia is allowed, you shouldn't do it because it's a donation based site. So basically always use Imgur, it takes just a few seconds. And never post Xkcd because it's a poo poo comic made by a pompous rear end. "Former Nasa roboticist" = a trainee for a few months. Maybe I'll start calling myself a veteran because I've been a peacetime conscript.

Thank you for your service.

# ¿ Jul 11, 2015 19:55

Crab Dad: Dec 28, 2002; behold i have tempered and refined thee, but not as silver; as CRAB

Wonder if it works on humans too?

# ¿ Jul 13, 2015 16:28

Crab Dad: Dec 28, 2002; behold i have tempered and refined thee, but not as silver; as CRAB

Oh. I just had a hunch that some dude blew air up his farm wives vag and she noticed her mams tingling the next day. So the obvious conclusion would be to blow air up ol dried up Betsy the cow.

# ¿ Jul 13, 2015 17:03

Crab Dad: Dec 28, 2002; behold i have tempered and refined thee, but not as silver; as CRAB

Agean90 posted:

if you want to your dick sucked sure, where would you get clean afterwards?

The dick suckers togo.

# ¿ Jul 24, 2015 18:02

Crab Dad: Dec 28, 2002; behold i have tempered and refined thee, but not as silver; as CRAB

Jamwad Hilder posted:

Off the top of my head I can't think of any instances of the Romans executing their own generals, even for particularly horrific losses.

Typically what would happen is you're basically never holding political office again. Your clients will abandon you for a more respectable patron. Hopefully you were able to loot back all the money you spent to win the consulship before you lost that battle, because you're probably bankrupt. You will always be remembered for the loss, and more importantly your family will be associated with the loss. Generations of men after you (sons, nephews, and grandsons at least) will probably have their reputation damaged by association, and it will be difficult for them to win any public office. They will probably never get the chance to lead legions and win any type of glory or wealth for the family because of your gently caress up. So you're still alive, but you're destitute, a pariah among your peers, and your family name has been damaged irreparably for the foreseeable future. It will probably take generations for your descendants to claw their way back into prominence, if they ever do, and you get to live with the knowledge that it's all your fault.

May as well just kill yourself and family and save everyone the shame.

# ¿ Jul 26, 2015 17:26

Crab Dad: Dec 28, 2002; behold i have tempered and refined thee, but not as silver; as CRAB

ALL-PRO SEXMAN posted:

Wanna drink with this dude and talk about ships.

Ships are p cool. Pretty ingenious stuff. Anything you are curious about in particular?

# ¿ Aug 28, 2015 06:23

Crab Dad: Dec 28, 2002; behold i have tempered and refined thee, but not as silver; as CRAB

Hogge Wild posted:

Only the war galleys with multiple rows of rowers (eg. triremes and biremes) needed to stop every evening to get more supplies. Trade galleys and earlier war galleys (eg. penteconters) had enough cargo space for multi-day journeys. And Roman roundships could have sailed round the Earth.

I think they were capable of doing it in perfect condition but reality is the ships most likely would have fallen apart due to extreme weather and wood worms long before they managed the full trip.

# ¿ Aug 28, 2015 06:33

Crab Dad: Dec 28, 2002; behold i have tempered and refined thee, but not as silver; as CRAB

Hogge Wild posted:

Extreme weather is always a danger, but the Roman roundships that were used in grain trade were more seaworthy than the ships that Columbus and Magellan used. And the 4th century BC Kyrenia ship had already a lead sheathed body against the shipworm.

Very likely. Only one of Magellan's five ships and 18 men out of the original 237 survived the first circumnavigation of the Earth. And navigation would have been also a big problem, but the ships themselves would have been capable of the task.

Very neat. Never came across lead sheeting on a ship that old. 4 man crew on a single mast, single square sail vessel? That's suicide on the open ocean but suitable for the med.

# ¿ Aug 28, 2015 08:05

Crab Dad: Dec 28, 2002; behold i have tempered and refined thee, but not as silver; as CRAB

Hogge Wild posted:

Not necessarily. Oceans have been crossed on similar or worse vessels, eg.

Captain Bligh's 47 days and 3,500 nautical miles (6,500 km; 4,000 mi) journey on an open boat after the mutiny on Bounty:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mutiny_on_the_Bounty#Bligh.27s_open-boat_voyage

Viking knarrs were also single mast, single square sail vessels with a small crew and half-open deck, and they were used to cross the Atlantic. Modern sailors on knarr replicas survive gales routinely.

Most of the naval accidents happen on coasts. If a storm happens, as long as there's nothing but open sea in front of ship, sailors can tie the rudder (or rudder oars), lower sea anchors, reef a storm sail and just bail (also pray), and the ship should be fine. Open decked vessels can lower their mast and spread the sail over the deck to help keep the water outside. Acts 27 has an example of a Roman ship in storm: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Acts+27

For the sake of argument the Bounty hardly counts as they already knew what was there. Plus didnt they resort to cannibalism to stay alive? Crossing the Atlantic, while a feet, is not crossing the Atlantic, going around the horn, up the pacific, across the pacific, into the Indian ocean, back around the tip and up the Atlantic again. Also... Dont use the Bible as evidence of anything besides the ability to creatively write.

# ¿ Aug 28, 2015 13:32

Crab Dad: Dec 28, 2002; behold i have tempered and refined thee, but not as silver; as CRAB

Hogge Wild posted:

I don't think that they resorted to cannibalism. While the Biblical storm story is fictive or at least heavily exaggerated for the sake of a better story, the author had been in a storm or at least consulted someone who knew his stuff, because the sailing methods described were the same that would have been used during the Age of Sail. Ergo, Rome had top quality seamen.

The difference between open ocean (theory and mathematics)seamen and coasters (visual) is so humongous it's like there is a gulf divide between the two. Romans were apparently not suicidal enough to go into the unknown or were but, well, died otherwise some sort of proof or records would say so.

Before the invention of a reliable time piece I think the only true open ocean sailors not relying on luck but true navigational skills were the Polynesian. Even that was quite a bit later(the star charts they made were ingenious).They ultimately had the biggest motivation to explore as they were eating each other out of house and home...

It's all fascinating and still up to debate.

# ¿ Aug 28, 2015 17:26

Crab Dad: Dec 28, 2002; behold i have tempered and refined thee, but not as silver; as CRAB

Hogge Wild posted:

Minoans used celestial navigation already in 2000 BC on open seas.

Key word seas. In the Med loving up only runs you into shore. Look at the size difference. Geez.

# ¿ Aug 28, 2015 18:02

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# ¿ May 10, 2024 09:17

Crab Dad: Dec 28, 2002; behold i have tempered and refined thee, but not as silver; as CRAB

Alhazred posted:

They also relied on their testicles.

Eating your own testicles is inefficient. Better to eat the weakest crew members member.

# ¿ Aug 28, 2015 18:50

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