7. Castle Moats Were Filled With Human Waste
Anyone who’s a fan of medieval castles probably loves the idea of having a moat. This body of water surrounding the castle was an extra step of protection to fend off invaders. However, this was actually disgusting water that was filled with excrement from the people living inside the castle. The plumbing pipes, called the garderobes, emptied from an opening at the bottom of the castle, and dumped out into the moat. In the TV show Escape to the Chateau, a couple purchases a castle in France. They were trying to modernize the plumbing system so that their waste was no longer dumped into the moat. The process was extensive, and expensive. However, it wasn’t as smelly as you would imagine, mostly because they had fish living in their moat that most likely eat whatever came down the tubes.