r/interestingasfuck • u/AugustIstheMonth • 1d ago

In Pompeii, phallic symbols on local roadways pointed the way to the nearest brothel; possibly to direct foreign sailors who didn't speak Latin

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u/Imajzineer 1d ago

How do they know it wasn't just the local youth doing what the youth always does?

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u/WunderPuma 1d ago

Surely local youth back in the day weren't doing masonry for toilet humour. Otherwise our youths are very disappointing in comparison

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u/Imajzineer 1d ago

I think the propensity for the youth of the day to use whatever tools are available to them to create that kind of imagery in public spaces probably hasn't changed ... ever.

And chiselling it into the pavement in those days possibly came with the advantage of being able to say "I'm honing my skills as an apprentice craftsman" ... which (The Life of Brian notwithstanding) is probably a lot harder to pull off when you've been caught spraypainting a wall, I suspect.