Ancient Romans did not enjoy the same sort of bathroom privacy that we do today. The sewage system in ancient Rome was fairly sophisticated, and water flowed under "toilets" shown above.

It's a good thing that Roman toilets were fairly sanitary, because they became something of a meeting place for the wealthy to gossip and even spread their political agendas and deliver speeches.

Toilet paper is by all means a very recent invention. Wealthy ancient Romans are known to have used sponges attached to sticks to clean up after themselves. The tool was kept in a salt water container between uses for sanitary reasons.

If you couldn't afford the sponge-stick apparatus, you had to use whatever else you could find. According to philosopher Seneca, this could include the use of pebbles. There is even a saying that goes "three stones are enough to wipe."

During the Middle Ages, many castles were surrounded by moats. Part of the reason was for defensive purposes. However, bathrooms called "garderobes" were placed over chutes that led to the moat, meaning the water was full of sewage.

Sometimes clothes were even kept inside of garderobes because the putrid smell repelled moths and other insects that destroy clothing and textiles.

Not surprisingly, peasants in the Middle Ages did not live in castles and didn't have any moats or garderobes to use. Instead, they would more or less go wherever they could and would often use this plant, called wooly mullein, to clean up afterwards.

Early settlers on the frontier in the United States are recorded as using dry corn cobs in lieu of toilet paper.

Part of the way the medieval "system" worked was by waste being collected and deposited into holes in the ground called cesspits. The men responsible for this job were called gong farmers, and they were supposedly well compensated for their unpleasant duties.

Human waste, called night soil, was the most important and depended-upon fertilizer in Japan until 1950. In fact, night soil was such a commodity that farmers would trade vegetables for it. Night soil was traded like money and was considered to be very valuable. The night soil of wealthy people was valued more highly because they had better diets and their waste was a more effective fertilizer.

In Tudor England, being responsible for cleaning up after the king was a highly coveted position. It was called being Groom of the Stool and noblemen would fight for the right for their sons to secure the job because it often led to becoming one of the king's most trusted advisors.

During the Renaissance, a King's "bathroom" was usually the corner of the room where a primitive toilet (a chair placed over a chamber pot) sat. Because Kings would often receive visitors in their chambers, it would sometimes overlap with toilet time.

In fact, Henru III of France was assassinated while on the toilet by a visiting friar.

About 15 years ago, an ancient toilet was discovered in the tomb of a Chinese king from the Han Dynasty. Like the Egyptian pharaohs, this king was buried with worldly items they believed his soul would need in the afterlife.

Do you know any other fun facts about how people went to the bathroom in the past? Please let us know in the comments below, and don't forget to SHARE on Facebook!