The Shocking History of Pee

by Ronald H. Blumer

Yes Virginia, pee really does have a history-a wild history which winds its golden stream through the origins of Count Dracula, ancient Hindu doctrine, the wool industry, cosmetics, unbelievably kinky sex, a major U.S Supreme Court decision, and Roman tax law. In these pages, you will discover that women's urine was supposed to be the secret weapon of the South during the American Civil War, that artworks created with the artist's pee have sold for millions of dollars and tankers of rancid piss used to ply the coast of England. Yes, you really can make a urine bomb, and right now you are using an ingredient found in pee to whiten your teeth. This richly illustrated volume will tell the story of this most familiar of liquids one which influenced people's lives and changed the history of the world.

162 pages, Paperback

Published August 7, 2017

Reviews

[Jonathan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not sure how I stumbled across this on Amazon, but it seemed like an intriguing read. And overall, it was indeed engaging, especially the opening chapters on the various medicinal and industrial uses of urine prior to the 20th century. The final chapter, detailing urine's use in "shocking" or transgressive art, was also quite interesting. The chapter on "pleasure and perversion" was...a bit more detailed than I expected, and featured some unexpectedly graphic accompanying images! It's worth noting that the author largely strikes the right tone throughout the work, employing an appropriate degree of levity given the subject matter while (mostly) avoiding camp or an over-reliance on bad puns. This is not an academic work, but it succeeds as a brief and amusing survey of urinary history.

[Cathern · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting read, I didn't know a lot of the facts that were written in this book about how urine was used throughout history for different things.