People Did What in Ancient Rome?

Judging by the titles of the books and the series (“People Did What???”), readers know they are in for a fun and interesting reading experience. Wacky, weird and gross facts are presented as the books describe what life was like in ancient times. Topics include religion, myths, homes, food, clothing and hairstyles, customs, medicine, education, language, art, entertainment, sports, pets, government, crime and punishment, and death and the underworld. A double-page spread is devoted to each topic. The information is dispensed in a light, conversational writing style injected with plenty of humour. Occasionally, the poop, pee, fart and butt references become a bit stale and overdone, but young children tend to enjoy all things gross, and the fact remains that in ancient Roman times, for example, urine was part of a concoction used to launder clothing, and that ashes from burnt cow excrement, mixed with honey, were used to get rid of warts. Illustrations consist of drawings, photographs and a few maps. Humour appears again in the labelling of the illustrations or in the speech bubbles beside them. A table of contents, a glossary, an index and a list of books and websites for further study are provided.

The Colosseum was the site of gladiator and animal shows as well as Naumachia shows which recreated sea battles. Water flooded the Colosseum, and flat-bottomed ships were brought inside. In People Did What in Ancient Rome?, there is information about the different types of gladiators and their weapons of choice, Roman toilets, baths and laundries, strange medical “cures”, such as kissing a mule’s nose to cure hiccups, dinner parties at the triclinium, and beauty treatments such as hair dye made with ashes, boiled walnut shells and earthworms or eyebrow makeup made from soot and painted on to create a unibrow.

Though much of the information in this series can be found in other books, its engaging writing style and selection of bizarre facts provide a refreshing alternative and make the series worthy of addition to a school or library collection.