Pre-germ-theory food handling and water source management always took a toll, so I’m guessing poo sponges were a relatively small part of the problem. Especially if the vinegar soak actually worked at all.

He also reviewed studies analyzing Rome’s ectoparasites — that is, parasites found on the outside of the body, such as fleas, lice and bedbugs — in textiles and combs.

Surprisingly, ectoparasites were just as common in the Roman Empire, where people regularly bathed, as they were in Viking and medieval populations — groups of people who didn’t bathe frequently, Mitchell found.

Now that is surprising. How hard is it to just delouse your shit before you put it back on?