Submitted via IRC for TheMightyBuzzard
What have the Romans ever done for us? Well, besides water systems, straight roads and central heating, the discovery of the Tantalus bowl now suggests they were the masters of cracking good jokes.
The function of the Tantalus bowl, which soaks whoever drinks from it in wine, was only fully realized after it was studied by an archaeologist from the British Museum. The bowl was uncovered in Vinkovci, eastern Croatia, in March 2012, and is believed to date back to the 4th century AD.
The silver object is a testimony to how, despite being regarded as one of the most sophisticated societies in the history of human civilization, the Romans were also a total bunch of jokers.
"This is the earliest example of a physical practical joke, certainly for the Romans," said Dr Richard Hobbs, curator of Roman Britain at the British Museum.
Source: https://www.rt.com/uk/414580-romans-tantalus-bowl-joke/
[For those who want to print their own version: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:562790 - Ed]
(Score: 3, Interesting) by aristarchus on Sunday December 31 2017, @09:02PM
In fact, the episode is available on youtube, but ya gotta pay! It's from somebody called "NBC", I guess they had tapes.
This is, however, what the Romans have done to us: the legal doctrine of paterfamilias, the Father as the sole proprietor of the family, and thus its legal owner. Under Roman law, a father could sell his children into slavery, or at least license them out to others (that was more the practice of "Fostering", common in Britannia). And so you can thank the Romans for copyright. Not very funny, if you ask me.