A vomitorium was a place where ancient Romans went to make themselves throw up after gorging themselves at a sumptuous banquet. Everybody knows that. Except that’s not true at all. Learn about what vomitoria were in this episode and impress your friends.
# Summary
Ever wondered where the idea of ancient Romans casually vomiting in designated public spaces came from? Josh and Chuck dive into the surprisingly recent origin of this totally false historical myth, tracing it back to author Aldous Huxley's offhand mention in a 1920s novel and how it snowballed into accepted "fact" through sloppy scholarship and repetition. Along the way, they explore what vomitoria actually were (spoiler: just hallways in the Colosseum), discover that these puke-designated facilities somehow became real in modern-day Vietnam and Germany, and discuss why this is yet another example of how misinformation spreads like wildfire through pop culture and academia.
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