this post was submitted on 14 Sep 2025
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What if You ate something so spicy, that it burns Your asshole. Would the communal sponge burn the next person?
What a great question! The Roman empire fell in the 400s CE if I remember right. It was about a thousand years later that peppers first showed up in Europe. So that would not have been a concern.
But if it had, it would depend on what it was rinsed in and how well it was rinsed. Vinegar can help neutralize the heat from capsaicin. Saltwater can help because of the way salt interacts to make it more water soluble. Regular water wouldn't really help.
I seem to remember reading vinegar was used between sponge uses so the burn issue could have been known and solved in antiquity by that.
Also, while new world peppers weren't available during the Roman Empire the old world had black pepper, long pepper, horseradish and likely other "hot" spices were available to old world peoples.
I wasn't thinking about piperine based spicy foods. That makes me wonder how much piperine it would take to burn your bum.
My assumption is that vinegar isn't for the possible spiciness, it's that it would help neutralize the smell.
I just realized mustard may have been another option for hot spiciness in antiquity.
If you can't get anything spicy, the kernels of rose hips can be used as a devilish itching powder.
asking the real questions over here
Imagine putting tabasco on the communal sponge