Fun fact... From the Roman era through the early modern era, the "four humors" theory of medicine led to an extraordinary focus on the quality, consistency and uh, frequency of feces in assessing people's medical health -- at least the people wealthy enough to have a doctor obsess over their poop.
Now, here's where it gets funny. Doctors were not generally nobility, or highly trusted ... What if they deliberately treated the king poorly? Best to have an impartial observer, someone you really trusted, who could describe your poop to multiple doctors (so as to get a second opinion) and be trusted not to discuss your poop willy nilly (can't have spurious rumors about the king's health).
Hence the introduction of a new title, the Groom of the Stool, whose job it was to... Well, to look at the king's poop, and be present while the aforementioned poop was pooped to verify the uh, chain of custody.
For hundreds of years, it was one of the most powerful positions at court, and formed the seed of what would later become the "privy counsel". The Victorians gradually phased it out (because they were less enthusiastic about poop than their predecessors).
Anyway I guess this picture made me think of three people sitting around watching each other poop, so ... Now you know about that, I guess
A great history lesson! :D
To add something to your wonderful story: In Germany many toilets had (maybe still have?) a poop shelf, for similar reasons, as far as I know. I haven't seen them in ages, but I remember them when I was little.
I heard about the mystical poop shelf, and was ... Excited? Interested? To see it when I visited Germany for the first time a few years ago. Nary a poop shelf in sight, I felt cheated
This is the best comment, thank you for the education.
Fun fact... From the Roman era through the early modern era, the "four humors" theory of medicine led to an extraordinary focus on the quality, consistency and uh, frequency of feces in assessing people's medical health -- at least the people wealthy enough to have a doctor obsess over their poop.
Now, here's where it gets funny. Doctors were not generally nobility, or highly trusted ... What if they deliberately treated the king poorly? Best to have an impartial observer, someone you really trusted, who could describe your poop to multiple doctors (so as to get a second opinion) and be trusted not to discuss your poop willy nilly (can't have spurious rumors about the king's health).
Hence the introduction of a new title, the Groom of the Stool, whose job it was to... Well, to look at the king's poop, and be present while the aforementioned poop was pooped to verify the uh, chain of custody.
For hundreds of years, it was one of the most powerful positions at court, and formed the seed of what would later become the "privy counsel". The Victorians gradually phased it out (because they were less enthusiastic about poop than their predecessors).
Anyway I guess this picture made me think of three people sitting around watching each other poop, so ... Now you know about that, I guess
A great history lesson! :D
To add something to your wonderful story: In Germany many toilets had (maybe still have?) a poop shelf, for similar reasons, as far as I know. I haven't seen them in ages, but I remember them when I was little.
I heard about the mystical poop shelf, and was ... Excited? Interested? To see it when I visited Germany for the first time a few years ago. Nary a poop shelf in sight, I felt cheated
This is the best comment, thank you for the education.
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