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During the 18th and 19th centuries, night soil men discreetly carted away human excreta from households.
https://s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/h...n_fullsize.jpg
Previously:
https://www.homemadetools.net/forum/...608#post159136
https://www.homemadetools.net/forum/...478#post139224
https://www.homemadetools.net/forum/...393#post135340
https://www.homemadetools.net/forum/...271#post184969
https://www.homemadetools.net/forum/...665#post170599
https://www.homemadetools.net/forum/...844#post137168
By the sewer he lived, by the sewer he died. Some said it was murder, but it was sewerside...
That picture is likely misattributed. I am almost certain he would be collecting horse/animal manure from streets, hence his fork and sack. A gongfermour (nigh soil man) tool of choice is a wooden spade/shovel and a bucket as not only is their business on the wetter side they were also needed to be quiet as they worked at night only. There is a possibility used wooden spades to lower the risk of explosion too, though I would thought they used candles for light so not sure on the veracity of that, certainly though a fork would be pretty useless.
Did people back then actually wash in the mornings or did they just go about day after day and not wash?
The second one. I can smell that picture.Quote:
Originally Posted by Fluffle-Valve