Feeding a Roman Gladiator

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Subtitles: Jose Mendoza | IG @worldagainstjose
PHOTO CREDITS
Relief depicting two gladiators: Carole Raddato from FRANKFURT, Germany, CC BY-SA 2.0 creativecommons.org/licenses/..., via Wikimedia Commons
Vibia Sabina: By Flickr: Vibia. Author: Iessi, 10 October 2006., CC BY 2.0, commons.wikimedia.org/w/index...
#tastinghistory #ancientrome #gladiator

[@verdantb9845]

"Gladiator sweat was sold as an aphrodesiac" Move over gamer girls you got competition

[@MyHentaiGirlNeko]

Lmao

[@matthiasthulman4058]

Stop before Jake Paul gets wind of this...

[@halfknight6706]

@Jonathan LaPointe If only it was their sweat...

[@thecatthatgotaway]

@Jonathan LaPointe real simps buy gamer girl bath water

[@chosimbaone]

Amouranth sells farts now. Idk who she is, but I know she sells farts.

[@philllllllll]

So gladiators were basically the Pokémon of their time. You collect them, train them, pit them against eachother and they come in different types.

[@TastingHistory]

🤣 yes!

[@theredblooper]

With nuzlocke rules on as well.

[@debrathornley2974]

In celebration of another informative and witty episode, I hope to pit my (AuntDebra's) against Josémm's or JMaximus' Pokémon some time in the near future!

[@zainiikhwan9405]

The lucky -trainer- Lanista caught a shiny one!

[@theredblooper]

@@peasant8246 I dunno, Maximus was kind of a looker in Gladiator. :v

[@ccswelding1599]

I'm a little disappointed that "Silence of the Lambs" wasn't referenced every time fava beans was mentioned...but then Romans get nervous any time Hannibal is talked about

[@hendawg7947]

underrated comment

[@ciaranfarrell8463]

I actually think he hasn't watched it irl. Call it Christian vibes, I could be wrong 🤔

[@QueenofSilence101]

"Gladiator sweat could be sold as an aphrodisiac" "Complained that his students were talking about gladiators during lectures" That's... Wow, I see a lot of similarities to today right there. I guess we've always been this way, huh?

[@tylere.8436]

Same shit, different age. Cancel culture happened back then too, it was referred to as 'damnatio memoriae'.

[@naipsiefilderussatser4067]

@@tylere.8436 lol

[@bartoszstarszobracki8675]

gladiator girl bathwater

[@BasileosHerodou]

Sadly we don't appreciate superior forms as they did back then

[@BasileosHerodou]

@@bartoszstarszobracki8675 you mean dead person bathwater?

[@vadalia3860]

"Basically, if Dad had to die... he wasn't going alone." Yeah, yeah, we've all been on a family roadtrip before, Max.

[@smartstudyingdoggo9031]

Well he failed, if you’re commenting.

[@smartstudyingdoggo9031]

Make sure to tie the kids to the seats, so they don’t escape. Also, tape their mouths so they don’t get carsick on the real leather

[@chocolatemilk7390]

@@smartstudyingdoggo9031 ahh yes, *life hacks*

[@Bejita666]

Well not me..

[@ashtonmacri4224]

0

[@monsternside1509]

Are you saying that my "Dad Bod" is actually a "Glad Bod"?

[@TastingHistory]

🤣 yes!

[@bustedkeaton]

Thats a good one

[@austinpresley6187]

@@bustedkeaton The real question is: would you be glad to have a dad bod?

[@carolynbrown8209]

😂😂

[@SeaWasp]

@@austinpresley6187 Personally I'm dad to have a glad bod

[@santiesposito8730]

My grandparents are from a small village in southern Italy, in the province of Calabria, and I just realized watching your video that they often eat a porridge of barley and mashed fava beans exactly like this Roman puls you made, it looks identical and is really delicious. I've noticed that some of the Roman recipes like this one that you've made are still cooked today in some rural Italian villages, even though they are not really mainstream Italian food, so you won't find them at an Italian restaurant. But in the rural villages in Italy, especially in the south, like in Calabria and Sicily, they actually still eat some of these ancient Roman dishes all the time!

[@lukassteck7449]

Come to graubünden..we eat that stuff all the time

[@ITALICVS]

In Italy we have many dishes that recall ancient Roman dishes, and also a food culture that has been handed down for centuries. In northern Italy we still make hams as the Romans did.

[@robertcovino4889]

We ate that growing up at our grandparents house

[@scotmclean5124]

Mine were from there as well (Ferruzzano) and also ate it. 🙂

[@santiesposito8730]

@@scotmclean5124 oh wow thats just down the road theyre from Guardavalle, so cool! You dont see that many Calabrese people

[@tgbluewolf]

It's so bittersweet that the gladiators often spent more time with family than feasting the night before a fight 😢

[@gregmuon]

I made a big bowl of puls from spelt for a Roman themed party once, pretty much as a joke. It looked disgusting. Weirdly, it tasted really good and everyone ate it until it was gone, which was both surprising and hilarious.

[@marcheck3400]

Out of laziness I tried cooking rice with lentils in the same pot. Didn't get the timing right. The lentils turned mushy and the rice soggy, but it tasted surprisingly good. There is something about grains + beans that somehow complements each other.

[@fatimashahid669]

@@marcheck3400 what you made on accident sounds a lot like Indian Khichdi (/Khichuri), if you liked what you made and want to give it another go, I hope you look up any of those recipes, they're super easy too!

[@davidfusco6600]

“A Roman themed party” Hmmm, back in the 70’s we’d have called that a toga party. I never would have thought to bring Puls though…Toga! Toga! Toga!

[@ethank.6602]

@@davidfusco6600 toga parties are still a thing

[@CoinBahd]

​@@marcheck3400​ Apparently the one amino acid that prevents lentils from having a complete amino acid profile is found abundantly in rice. Tyrosine I believe is the one. Regardless, they are super tasty together

[@zachbahamutson5477]

There's a little interesting fact: Gladiators would usually be given a set time contract if they were not criminals and instead volunteered to be gladiators to support their families. They were essentially a combination between an actor and a athlete.

[@bigfatchubbybritboy9445]

So like a modern day professional wrestler.

[@Belgand]

Virilis Vir Lupus Barbarus, the cream of the crop...

[@G.Bfit.93]

@@bigfatchubbybritboy9445 more like mma

[@G.Bfit.93]

@@bigfatchubbybritboy9445 with more death

[@NeostormXLMAX]

Its like signing up for a death game gamble like in kaiji/liargame or the shiity live action squid game

[@vsGoliath96]

Wait, so this dude is part of a group of 5v5, surrenders, decided he doesn't want to die, and then solos the entire other team and lives?! How is he not the coolest gladiator ever?

[@darkdwarf007]

because part of being a good gladiator is to accept your death after you surrendered, clearly

[@snatcher8517]

Expect a movie for him 20 years from now.

[@donovansingleton9096]

Right! This dude sounds awesome

[@platedlizard]

The gladiatorial games started out as essentially human sacrifice to the gods and its not a good look when one of your sacrifices doesn’t play his part

[@10thejgm78]

reminds me a lot of a battle royal win I got last week

[@jackbartle8608]

So if the fights had some kind of orchestral musical score, do you think that the popular gladiators got their own entrance theme music like in WWE? Imagine introducing Magnus the “Throat-ripper” of Dalmatia into the Coliseum as a rendition of “ Break the Walls Down” is played on flutes and lyres

[@gordonlekfors2708]

**tucks you in**

[@thomasdarnall8912]

And his opponent, I give you Granitus Thermos Austinius Murmilo. "Cue Stone Cold's theme song in Lyres and Flutes.

[@amym1355]

Why do I feel like this video was 100% made so Max could show off his Lego Coliseum set?

[@ornessarhithfaeron3576]

#NotASponsor

[@mikebreaton7910]

AND RIGHTFULLY SO!! lol

[@username00009]

More like he made this video so he could list the purchase as a business expense 🤣

[@ReggieArford]

No, it was to show off "his" cat. The Lego set is just to keep the cat's attention while filming.

[@JonatasAdoM]

@ Ornessar Hithfaeron Lego should have sponsored it.

[@ranaevalentine9876]

Tacitus complaining about his students chattering about the gladiators during his lessons crack me up. 2,000 years later, teachers bemoan their students chattering away about professional athletes: footballers, basketball players, wrestlers. People never really change, do they? Even with all the advancements we've made, humans are gonna human I guess.

[@reddragoon7981]

Similar to the notes by DaVinci's students with penises doodled in the margins

[@matasa7463]

@@reddragoon7981 Only difference is Da Vinci would complain that the doodles were horribly drawn, and they should be ashamed of that.

[@donmiller2908]

This is why it's wise to study people if you wish to change your situation. Morals and cultures change, human nature does not.

[@mat5267]

It’s only 2000 years, a blink of an eye, relatively speaking. We are not that different from our ancient ancestors.

[@mustafaamin9516]

Some things never change, huh?

[@aidenc1998]

Sometimes they’d flood the colosseum to do ship battles, always found that interesting

[@slwrabbits]

The logistics of that always floored me (being a former stage crew member). How'd they pipe in that quantity of water? How'd they keep it from leaking into the lower levels? How did they get whole ships into this structure? I want to know how they did it all!

[@takhu]

@@slwrabbits from what I`ve read, the Colosseum had it`s own aqueduct and channel system for flooding and draining, the ships weren`t full size, but small scale, think large fishing boats, made to look like the real ones. The water on the arena was not deep, otherwise the weight would become a huge problem.

[@slwrabbits]

@@takhu That makes sense, thank you!

[@tylere.8436]

@@slwrabbits I believe it was there before the lower levels were added in transition for gladiator fights.

[@LordVader1094]

@@takhu Also if the water was too deep you risked drowning your prized gladiators and that's not very fun to watch.

[@Mrverybusinessman]

As a history major who decided to begin dabbling in cooking.. I think I have found the perfect channel.

[@SPLuvr]

"Where there is the smell of garlic, there is Rome" Italians gonna Italian lmao

[@iafozzac]

Actually, Italian cuisine uses a lot less garlic than non Italians think and, most importantly, we do it smartly There's a good video on pastagrammar about it Also, garlic bread doesn't exist in Italy

[@ragnkja]

@@iafozzac I’ve always thought of garlic bread as more of a French thing, especially since it’s usually garlic _baguettes,_ at least here in Norway.

[@helema23]

@@iafozzac i have seen several dishes that call for garlic and just as many that do not. but i will hand it to the ones that know what they are doing, they know how to use herbs and spices to make the dish pop and not overpower and less salt than many other regions do.

[@GreedyOrange]

@@ragnkja true germay has garlic baguettes too! very good stuff...

[@Emielio1]

@@iafozzac I do suppose that depends on the region, right? The dishes I had in the Emilia-Romagna region were quite garlicky, from what I remember, as were those in Rome (which I don't mind, as I LOVE garlic and always put tons of it in nearly every dish I make, whether it be Italian, Thai, Chinese, Indian or French). I don't know about the south though, visto che Sicilia e Napoli sono ancora sulla mia lista dei desideri.

[@ShortHax]

Bloody hell, the gladiators ate better than I do

[@TastingHistory]

🤣 That’s worrying

[@ragnkja]

Boiled barley (made with stock and/or spices if you prefer) can be made in bulk and frozen in plastic bags for easy use later.

[@dnmurphy48]

@@ragnkja Not in the roman era.

[@bustedkeaton]

@@dnmurphy48 i think theyre giving OP tips, not the gladiators.

[@ragnkja]

@@dnmurphy48 Are you saying that they didn’t have freezers or plastic bags in the antiquity? 😂

[@SP8inc]

So gladiators were basically their superheroes. They even made toys of them. Okay. THAT'S SO AWESOME

[@JarlLightsworn]

This is honestly a really great recipe to find on this channel. It’s filling but still relatively cheap enough for someone tight on a budget. And the flavor a bit of vinegar adds to a dish is amazing. Thank you so much for this dish!

[@Disturban]

“Where there is the smell of garlic, there is Rome” I love that so much. My house is basically Rome

[@jlshel42]

And vampire repellant

[@beepboop204]

@@jlshel42 it attracts Ukrainians as well

[@Hannah-zw9ow]

YOOOOOO DISTURBAN WATCHES TASTING HISTORY?

[@darthplagueis13]

Well, darn. Considering I haven't done the dishes yet, I could probably stab someone with Rome...

[@Tirnel_S]

Saaaame

[@JeremiahFrye]

I don't have the fighting skills of a gladiator, but I have the flabby/gassy part down.

[@gracet6533]

And u know what? That’s half the battle :)

[@Julia-lk8jn]

And your girlfriend / wife / significant other will be so thrilled to learn that she's 50% of the way to being in bed with a gladiator!

[@cestlavie6719]

😂😂😂

[@Manul5090]

@@Julia-lk8jn lmao

[@halfling49]

You'd be a great jobber, at least. Bleed a lot to excite the audience.

[@badrpr69]

“I dont know if i’d eat bowls of this everyday” Me: looks down in shame at my bowl of oatmeal that i eat every day after the gym . 😂😂

[@jrmckim]

I also eat oatmeal everyday. It's filling and good for you. No need to feel bad. 😊

[@PeterRavnRasmussen]

You know, on the same general theme as this, you might want to consider making chankonabe, the rich stew that they feed to sumo wrestlers to bulk them up. It's hard to say how long this has been around, but based on pictures of sumo wrestlers, the "bulked-up" version started appearing around the mid-1700s, so some version of chankonabe was probably around by then.

[@jackmehoffe9372]

It's very very goooood!

[@vinceblasco]

“The party was SO raucous. There were piles of bodies everywhere. And then the gladiators started fighting!” - Some ancient Roman hedonist, probably

[@user-pf8hs7nv6z]

"The party was filled with corpses. And then some members started to act violently!"

[@a.j.petrarca2268]

"And, right off the bat, I'M OUT..." I have never felt a statement DEEPER in my bones lmao

[@dimitalle3530]

In Romania we make "Bulz" which is a sort of meal made with polenta (corn flower porridge), eggs and cheese. It is also usually considered as a "peasant's food" so I kinda feel like it could be a survivor of the food our roman ancestors used to make :)

[@michaelciccone2194]

What's with 'kinda'? Words like "kinda, gonna gotcha wanna" are incorrect English words that originated from Southern USA states.

[@rodimusgamer7620]

​@@michaelciccone2194 why are you like this?

[@mrtrollnator123]

@@michaelciccone2194 he can say whatever he wants

[@Jay-jb2vr]

Learn English

[@brandonbackup873]

​@@michaelciccone2194 Daily Reminder that American Southern English is the best representation of historical English

[@jonathanpanlaqui1855]

During the age of Roman Empire, gladiators feed themselves on puls, a kind of porridge made of emmer groats and barley with fava beans, which became a staple food being eaten. And there's Machoke on it near him.

[@NickPoeschek]

Thanks Max, now when gladiators in movies aren’t flabby and gassy I’m going to disappointed by the inaccuracy.

[@TastingHistory]

🤣

[@fedra76it]

Now I can't help imagining a "Gladiator" scene where, say, Lucilla goes to Maximus in the cell and complains for the fart stink LOL Gosh, this notion ruined it for me (and Russell Crowe is my absolute idol as it comes down to acting).

[@bimscutney1242]

So I’m on my way to be a gladiator. Flabby and gassy, now I just need to learn to fight.

[@TheRealNormanBates]

@@Ethernaut7 played by Kirk Dougl”ass”

[@bimscutney1242]

@@Ethernaut7 Outstanding

[@fuzzyhead878]

Of course machoke is the background pokemon for this episode.

[@HansWurst1569]

oh shit there always is a background pokemon in his eps? never knew about this easter egg EDIT; just checked and its true :o

[@CJ-rx5fi]

Has anyone ever gone back and cataloged the Pokémon for every video? I’d be interested to see how many we’ve gone through 😂

[@guilhermegoldman]

Looky man!

[@johnmoritz9870]

I think Falinks would have been a better choice here. Maybe if he did/has done a Roman Legionaire video (IDK)

[@StrangeCreed]

Technically, all of them would be appropriate for a gladiator episode.

[@ThorgalsWalhalla]

i love how historicly acurate this video is i love that you got the thumbfing right! They had some of the best doctors of the time. It was also great for doc to learn there.

[@allanjla8397]

I remember seeing an article on what gladiators ate a couple years ago, idly thought I'd try it out. After seeing this I'll definitely add it to my meals, especially as I've started working out again. Got to pad myself for one day being amongst the crowds again. The bit of gas may help with distancing as well.

[@Serpillard]

Keep in mind, the living conditions of gladiators improved quite a bit after Spartacus' rebellion, because Roman leaders obviously didn't want that to happen again.

[@viciousspike9094]

One personal change I'd make is frying the garlic for a little bit before adding the water, just to help the oil's fragance and enhance the dish's garlic-y aroma.

[@himleragabash5470]

Or a garlic-y Roma aroma. 😏

[@penultimateh766]

But how many men you've cooked for have died in the arena?

[@-jank-willson]

You can mash this dish in a food proccessor, and you'd have a hummus-like dish

[@kiltedcripple]

I'd also swap out the salt and season with fish sauce too. Going to try this recipe as I happen to have all these ingredients in my pantry at the moment.

[@dphalanx7465]

@@-jank-willson Good Idea!

[@Jedreck]

This year this has become one of my favorite recipes. I'm just not a huge fan of fava beans in my puls. I prefer extra onions & bacon, zucchini & kielbasa, plums & kielbasa & raisins. For sure I'll be trying other ingredients as well. It's such a cheap, healthy, delicious, versatile food and I can make great quantities of it on my wok. It lasts me and my gf 2-3 days. Romans sure knew what's up. Thank you, Max. I'm learning a lot from your channel.

[@CornishCreamtea07]

Modern children: My parents are going to buy me a figurine of my favourite Fortnite character. Roman children: Mu parents are going to make/buy me a figurine of my favourite Gladiator.

[@TheOffkilter]

That video he did a while back doing Poscha and pork fat about how Roman soldiers were punished by being given barley rations makes more sense now considering barley was associated with being the food of slaves. Probably also goes along with the Roman disdain for beer too.

[@Anesthesia069]

Good point. Interesting because I love barley.

[@strongback6550]

@@Anesthesia069 How plebeian

[@Emielio1]

@@Anesthesia069 Pffff, peasant.

[@gregmuon]

It seems to depend on the period. There are quite a few barley recipes in Apicius. Must have been reasonably respectable then. (1st century)

[@GaldirEonai]

There's a traditional barley-and-pork stew they make around where my dad's from and I absolutely love that stuff. But even there, it had a reputation as a poor man's grain well into the 20th century.

[@DamplyDoo]

I heard that gladiators traditionally ate what was popular/common to their area. So some ate a lot of grains, some ate fish, etc

[@michaelpettersson4919]

Sure but the DID like to buff of, something that can be seen in paintings. Apperantly a layer of fat functioned as a type of armor giving at least some pitiful protection.

[@DamplyDoo]

@@michaelpettersson4919 actually a layer of fat bled nicely, but an injury to it was less fatal. Put on a better show

[@ragnkja]

@@michaelpettersson4919 Whatever was cheap, calorie-rich and nutritious enough to not cause any obvious deficiency issues was what they were given, basically.

[@helema23]

in most cases they ate better than the nobles that held them, they were in essence viewed as live stock and you feed your livestock to keep them in top shape for events. an account of one such gladiator i read was a man that fought for 20 years and won all but one match where his opponent showed leniency and this bloke up and killed the man that spared his life moments later. from some of the things i read about him he was 36 when he won his freedom and had trained for 5 years before his first fight...so he was around 11 when he either willingly went into service asa gladiator or was sold. he may have even been a servants child. until his hard won freedom he was fed on grains, fatty meats, and fresh fruit and vegetables. This account pops up in several places where i try to learn more about that time and is used as an example as to the life of a gladiator that survived most if not all of their fights. Can yall imagine an 11 year old being told that he needs to buff up these days? most of them would whine that it is too hard.

[@bustedkeaton]

@@helema23 was that last part you honestly being nostalgic for when kids were Tough and sold into slavery? Lmao

[@logandaley1544]

13:30 I felt this so much. Our football team hadn’t won anything since before the year 1990 but every year they got more funding and chorus and theater arts got more cuts. Even the sports that we’re doing well year after year got snubbed for more football.

[@Matteomadison]

I watch alot of KZbin… and this is my favorite show period. Love the history thats usually laugh out loud funny, and the cooking part is almost like a bonus to a show that can stand on its own based on just the history part. What knights ate, the rosewater and sugar pizza , two of my favorite episodes. This is better than any history channel show that you actually have to pay for.

[@ladyswellegant96]

So much like Gladiators, Sumo Wrestlers had their own schools, housings, and dishes unique to them. I'd like to see you do an episode on sumo dishes.

[@niklas5948]

Chankonabe!

[@ViktoriousDead]

Go away Asia

[@Greatanotherchannel]

One word: full

[@user-oy4vu3ck3u]

Nabe!

[@danielhristov6175]

Chanko nabe :D

[@fabrisseterbrugghe8567]

A group I was a part of did Norman cookery. We had five different dishes and we distinguished them as "the brown glop, the tan glop, the off-white glop, the glop between tan and off-white, and the dark brown glop." I think you have found a new shade of glop. [For the record, the dark brown glop was a beef with cinnamon and rose petals that was delicious. All of the glops were delicious, they just all looked alike.]

[@fabrisseterbrugghe8567]

@@sarafinasummers7863 I'm with you on the sweet pasta salads. What hath they wrought? I think the answer to the "how can midwestern folks eat all that" is: the cold. Cold burns fat.

[@Tipi_Dan]

I would really love to have your recipes. Meal makes a meal. Glop is the glue that holds the world together with such inventive variety. I'm of such a mind as to say there is so much to cherish in a thin nut gruel. ;-)

[@Julia-lk8jn]

I guess these days food photography is such an inescapable thing that it'd be hard to give a tasty helping of glop away for free. Shame about it! Fun thing about a good glop (a.k.a a thick soup): it stays in the stomach a lot longer than the exact same ingredients would do if they hadn't been boiled to a soup, so the satiation lasts longer.

[@SoupEmperor]

This format is such a great idea, and this channel and that of Jon Townsend do it in an excellent way. You have a real knack for transitioning between the cooking and the historical information, all while keeping it light with the occasional joke. Keep it up!

[@n1msu]

Just want to thank you and encourage your decision to make this channel a full time endeavour. I've learnt a few new things today. I'm educated to degree level and always loved classical history, You'd make a fantastic teacher as I'm sure you know by now!

[@smellyfella5077]

The official gladiator games funded by the state---which virtually had unlimited funds to put on a show---at the coliseum in Rome were often choreographed to play out a story from Greco-Roman Mythology or to commemorate some famous battle that the legions had won down through history complete with props and what not. It was like watching a Broadway show....but with actual maiming and killing.

[@MonsterPumpkin]

Wow we have been doing WWE for a long time thats fascinating

[@adamlane6453]

@@MonsterPumpkin As long as fighting has been a spectacle, which is since forever, it has been a "work" to one degree or another. There's money in spectacle and everyone involved can make more money, more reliably, if the fighters don't hurt each other too badly and can live to fight each other another day.

[@LordVader1094]

Although deaths were surprisingly rare.

[@15oClock]

"And pizza if you're on a pizza only diet." I've never been more tempted by Hello Fresh.

[@tonytestosteroni2273]

If you made a channel just about history, I would be all over that! The way you talk is so comforting that I feel like I could learn anything from whatever you talk about.

[@petesheppard1709]

The comparison of gladiators with modern professional athletes is, aside from the dying is not far off. I once read that the killing stroke, the quick stab to the jugular was understood to be pretty much painless; a quick prick, then pass out as blood pressure plummets.

[@fingerboxes]

Honestly, even if you don't die immediately from a modern boxing or football career the long term effects of repeated concussions suck. If you watch videos of Mohammad Ali late in his life it's pretty harrowing and that's the fate awaiting many professional athletes. Others like Phillip Adams have been driven to murder and the scientific consensus does seem to be that it's probably caused by the repetitive brain damage suffered during their career. Rugby is also notoriously brutal. Or look at Nascar, another deadly sport which has killed 29 people in 74 years which is one every 2.5 years. I think from a morality standpoint we actually should ban these blood sports. Sure, life gives you no guarantees of safety or longevity and there are many other far more dangerous jobs out there but to pay people to attempt to cheat death for no reason other than entertainment doesn't seem moral. The argument could be made that football lifts many hopeless urban youth, especially young black people, out of poverty but does that make it right? If you took two homeless black 12 year olds from Baltimore and told them that if they'd fight to the death you'd give the winner $100 million, would that be moral? Surely the best solution would be to create alternate routes out of poverty, not add more blood sports. A universal basic income is completely feasible and would do a much better job: if you eliminate social security, food stamps, housing subsidies and their related bureaucracy in favor of giving every US citizen a check just like the ones during the pandemic but for $1,200 every single month, you could far more efficiently tackle poverty. I think a combination of UBI and getting people invested in improving the lives of others in their community is the best path forward.

[@andrelegeant88]

Gladiator fights are fascinating. They were more the professional wrestling of their day than a combat sport. The fights between actual stars were almost certainly fixed, as no one had an interest in someone dying. The diet and extra fat was definitely designed to help gladiators "blade" (bleed on purpose) without endangering themselves.

[@eagleofceaser6140]

That's right, gladiators would have been taught to fight in a style that would have been designed to look as flashy as possible.

[@FuriouslySleepingIde]

And their gear was almost certainly gimmicked. If a blade is made with a deliberately poor shape it can cut shallowly easily but not deeply. The trident with the triangular tips would also be difficult to pierce deeply with, especially compared to a spear. The armor also leaves exposed areas with fat deposits and no bones or tendons right by the surface. I think a common ending was a shallow slash across the stomach, which the loser grabbed as if they were holding their guts in from an actual disembowelment.

[@krankarvolund7771]

If I recall correctly, they were trained to aim for the back, slashes on your ack piss blood, are really impressive, but not threatening to your life ^^ Of course there were deads, but not a daily occurence.

[@vaevictis2789]

@@krankarvolund7771 not in a daily occurrences? Actually very few of gladiators survived more then 10 fights

[@joshuakim5240]

Pretty sure that the quality of the fighters in a social context greatly determined how the fight was going to be set up. Prisoners? Feed them to the lions for blood sport. No-name random grunts? Probably a decently dangerous fight where dying was going to determined by if one of the gladiators genuinely wants to kill the other. Celebrity fighters? No chance these guys were dying and they were going to do a full-on spectacle fight full of dumb, flashy moves with no real combat application but would look cool as hell.

[@frenchfriar]

I'd be willing to bet that the "music" played at gladiatorial events was intended to let the crowd better know what was going on. A trumpet sounding with every hit certainly sounds that way. Likely the other instruments also had such meaning when played, allowing the crowd to know what was happening without opera glasses or an amplified announcer.

[@tsmith906]

Thank you for this channel. There are a lot of people making ancient recipes but they dont put it in historical perspective like you do

[@kayebee4794]

Why this account didn't yet reach million subscribers? Historical food, recipes, and accurate historical background is the way to fill up our historical needs. I like this video, and kudos to Tasting History on what have you done on Filipino's Adobo. Really appreciate it. 🤘

[@MrThatguyuknow]

Considering how much Rome valued physical fitness, this story is pretty hilarious to envision. The desire of the whole empire; the heartthrob boy-band stars of the day, were basically all rocking dad-bods.

[@jgkitarel]

They also tended to have different standards of fitness. Could you go all day in doing rough and ready stuff? Cool? Have a little flab? Good! It means you have meat on your bones and won't starve. Also, women who were pudgy tended to be seen as much more beautiful than the rail thin supermodels we consider such these days.

[@sumukhavenkatesha6171]

@@jgkitarel So what you're saying is, THEY LIKE EM THICK

[@mayukhsen8195]

Fitness doesn't mean rocking a 8 pack year around. Not always.

[@LancesArmorStriking]

Well, most people who rock the dad bod aren't packing pounds of muscle underneath-- same deal with sumo wrestlers. Sure they're fat, but it's subcutaneous, not visceral fat. And they train got hours to build muscle underneath. That kind of body takes real dedication

[@mayukhsen8195]

@@LancesArmorStriking Exactly, the caloric surplus ensures that they are building muscle at the fastest possible rate. According to Mike Israetel, in order for the body to make muscular hypertrophic adaptations, it has to be convinced that food is not only there, it is abundant. The inmates in US prison have the best most perfect strength regime for optimal fitness. The dirty bulk, and they train to get their push up, pull up and squat number higher and higher and higher. From former ex inmate in Mississippi, who is now a bartender, I have heard that they do half their max reps each set, for push ups and squat, each set 15-30 minutes apart, all day, and when doing half their max reps feel easier than before, they go for a new max attempt, build their next training cycle (aka sets of half of their new max reps) based on their new max, and repeat this cycle indefinitely. It's not rare to see 250 pounds or better hulking dudes who can bang out 20 pull ups and 100 push ups like it's cheescake, and majority of that bodyweight is hulking muscle, which also gives them beast stamina and cardio.

[@penneyburgess5431]

The jocks get everything. Nothing has changed. So true. So true. Such a bitter pill. On the upside, never made to fight for my life on a daily basis and be treated like a prisoner.

[@alanparom3797]

When the world stabilizes more I hope we get experiencing history. Where you explore other countries and the food scene there!! Keep up the good work!!

[@HerbertDuckshort]

Gladiators were flatulent? Bravefart? I love Max. Every time he “mimics” an Ancient Greek or Roman he always does it in an English accent. Hilarious.

[@iakahdrake2801]

"CHEF! come here there is a Gladiator and he doesnt have puls" "is he dead?" "no but very hungry"

[@cousinjake7986]

I hate you for making me laugh so hard at such a crap joke.

[@mortisCZ]

@@cousinjake7986 More of a carb joke.

[@baragoth]

They sound similar to our modern day gladiators, the sumo wrestlers, or rikishi as they are called in japanese. They live traditionally as they have done for hundreds of years, together in sumo stables where they train every day, and eat the same meal every day, chanko nabe, sometimes called a sumo hot pot. The highest ranked rikishi, the yokozuna, will also be given a sword that symbolize his samurai status. When the rikishi is no longer able to compete they will often take the role of teacher and train the new generation.

[@LisaHoneychan]

Very very true. I’m bummed it’s finally time for Hakuho to retire.

[@TheChzoronzon]

Chanko nabe isn't a specific dish, it's more a category. Like "ramen bowl". It can have a myriad of different ingredients and there's no fixed recipe

[@slwrabbits]

Please tell me the actual translation is not stables.

[@rc59191]

That chanko nabe is by far one of the greatest things in Japanese cuisine.

[@frostincubus4045]

Chanko nabe is very healthy for a meal that's supposed to put weight, but the portion tho 😲

[@jdion79]

This is the first vid I've seen since you tied the knot! CONGRATS, BUD!!! Super stoked!

[@bleutitanium6513]

Max, as always, entertaining and educational. I enjoy your storytelling !

[@aidanfarnan4683]

I love how every depiction of gladiators in modern media is of huge chiselled body-builders but every ancient account is of flabby and flatulent men who never leave their room other than to work. Truly, I have achieved the body of a gladiator!

[@BorisBelomor]

To be fair, they should have muscles under the layer of fat, since they were training every day. Kind of like sumo wrestlers.

[@WastedTalent-]

@@BorisBelomor Or like professional wrestlers from the 80's on back. Not many were chiseled, or even showed much muscular definition, but those guys still trained/worked out all of the time. You had to just to be able to keep up for a 20-30 minute match without being gassed in the first few minutes. They were strong SOB's and you didn't want to mess with them outside of the ring.

[@aidanfarnan4683]

@@BorisBelomor Yeah, it's like in any "Worlds strongest man" contest they don't look chiselled, they look like someone shaved a bear and then decided to see how many carbs they could fit in it. It's almost like Hollywood has been consistently lying to us about male perfection.

[@kosmosyche]

@@aidanfarnan4683 Nah, it started long before Hollywood. Have you seen ancient Greek and Roman statues? They also mostly admired the chiseled body-building type look.

[@Mandassina]

@@aidanfarnan4683 😂😂😂😂 Brilliant description! You should write comedy.

[@al77709]

"here's how you fatten up a gladiator" "their flesh is a bit flabbier than pork" "they pair well with fava beans" So, uh, Galen definitely ate people, right?

[@angolin9352]

Dude didn't know nearly enough about anatomy to be a cannibal.

[@TheRealNormanBates]

@@angolin9352 yeah… he preferred things fresh, not out of a can.

[@vigilantcosmicpenguin8721]

...and a nice Chianti.

[@DeathBYDesign666]

But how does it accentuate the flavor of the liver? That's what I'm hearing pairs best with fava beans. I just love fafafafafafava beans.

[@jackbartle8608]

And a nice Falernian

[@nikkiewhite476]

Lovely meal I will see if I can adapt it with grains and lentils I can eat. The information on the Gladiators is fascinating! I can't wait for the drinking history episode to learn more!

[@DoctorMangler]

I'm so glad I stuck around after the recipe. Thank you so much for a great presentation! I came for a recipe and I left with a better appreciation for history. What a great video!

[@hellspawn22001]

The cat is like “why did you spend all that time on something that didn’t involve me?”

[@bdkcorrigan7532]

In medieval Latin, you sometimes get misspellings, like 'alium' (other) vs 'allium' (garlic). Once I put a medieval Latin document through Google Translate before doing the full translation myself, and I got a contract that asked for "garlic inserted into the document".

[@ragnkja]

I’ve seen _so_ many examples of single consonants that should have been double in Norwegian, mostly written by children.

[@juanjuri6127]

some people like their documents bland and flavorless i guess 🙄

[@SimuLord]

@@juanjuri6127 How better to describe bankers, accountants, and lawyers?

[@slwrabbits]

Heh, job security.

[@alisaurus4224]

Garlic juice was used as glue to adhere gold leaf by illuminators, so there may well have been garlic in the documents!

[@PeggyR70]

This is seriously one of the best channels on KZbin

[@bariettaperez]

I absolutely love your videos ! Your voice, your storytelling, the immaculate details. Muah! 😚🤌🏽 Perfection

[@random_pancake1812]

"this could get monotonous very quickly" Me seeing at my mother who grew up in a small farmer family in my country eating plain beans with rice everyday of her life for more than 25 years: O.O

[@LillibitOfHere]

I really love simple foods like rice and beans!

[@Serjo777]

Oh god, I just don't understand how people can do that. I get bored of eating the same thing super fast, can't eat the same dish (or even just similar ones) for more than 2 days in a row, and even _that_ is hard most of the time.

[@classypotato9255]

@@Serjo777 Have you lived alone and cooked everything yourself? Lazyness is a very powerful motivator. I can cook like 3 things and eat them in different combinations for 4 days no problem, it happens often. Like cooking a shitton of rice, bean chilli and sauteed veggies and just eating that everyday (with some different breakfast and snacks)

[@Serjo777]

@@classypotato9255 I'd rather starve ._.

[@marcheck3400]

Its not bad eating. It's how it is cooked. The Indians live of rice and beans, and they have endless variations of such dishes.

[@OlEgSaS32]

I remember a book from middle school, it was part of a series called "You would not want to be: _" and it was "You would not want to be A Roman Gladiator" and it also talked about these gladiator kits, granted it being a kids book, it left out the whole "being pimped out to high class women if you won"

[@travisshrowd2268]

I found your channel through KZbins weird algorithm. An after watching the Viking Blood Bread episode I’ve been binge watching your channel. You’re a delight to watch an listen to. Gonna have to try to make that medieval cheesecake.

[@deanharmse5126]

I actually made this dish a couple of years ago. Think I will do it again. Can't wait for Friday's episode. This is my favorite youtube channel. I am a History buff and have always had an interest in ancient dishes.

[@buckysgirl4945]

Fun fact: the song that most people associate with the Circus is titled "Enter the Gladiator". I now want a music video for Gladiator set to that tune.

[@JustSpectre]

Interesting, I didn't know the author of this famous tune was Czech composer Julius Fučík. Another reason to be proud for my country.

[@buckysgirl4945]

@@JustSpectre Be proud of your country it razed you.

[@Cubstiti]

@@buckysgirl4945 Hopefully it raised you first

[@buckysgirl4945]

@@Cubstiti Nope I'm a proud American ninth generation military brat. I'm also a bit of a history and fantasy nerd, hence the handle.

[@petergray7576]

For the record: the circular arena used in Gladiatorial combat is called a circus. The circus was also used for chariot and horse racing, staged battles, and monster chariot rallies (kidding). The association with the modern circus began with an English equestrian rider named Philip Astley, who started trick riding in a circular path in 1768 (his predecessors preferred straight lines) and filled the intermission periods between his performances with jugglers, clowns acrobats etc..... The first use of the word circus in this format was by another Englishman, Charles Dibdin, when he opened the Royal Circus in 1782, featuring acts similar to Astley's. The latter opened his own full circus in Paris the same year, calling it the Amphitheatre Anglais. These circuses were permanently moored to a single purpose built building, and the traveling circus with a canvas big top didn't debut until 1826.

[@T3nch1]

Food fact; Both porridge and gruel are soups with a slight difference between the two. Porridge -> more food than water. Gruel -> More water than food. On that note; if anyone has any idea what Firefly gruel is made of please let me know. I've been looking for a recipe since 2004 and have yet to find anything.

[@ryanchen8403]

I know what you mean by more water than food in your gruel, i have had gruel in which it was basically a big bowl of soup with not much food in it, like a few scoops of rice and a trace amount of meat. It did not fill me up for long, my stomach was growling again in about 2 hours

[@snazzypazzy]

Fireflies? ;)

[@Paulyphyllous]

Always enjoy how the figurine in the background always matches up with the theme of each video. Nice touch.

[@Simonsvids]

I often have porridge for breakfast, so I would have this for breakfast too. Porridge is a very popular breakfast during the winter in the UK. We only have the 'full English breakfast' usually when we don't have to cook it ourselves, like when staying at a hotel.

[@moongem4489]

When I saw Max's cat sitting right next to his lego Colosseum, I thought, man that's a demolition just waiting to happen.

[@ProSimex84]

"Where there is the smell of garlic there is Rome" was probably used as a pejorative by the Gauls. Also not gonna lie, I used to make big pots of this stuff to take with me on the road when I was still trucking. One Tupperware container was enough for a day, it was very healthy, but not tasty enough to eat when bored. I was probably the healthiest driver out there.

[@SimuLord]

How ironic considering what happened to Gaul cuisine-wise when the Franks got there and discovered what one can do with garlic...

[@ReggieArford]

Add a little soy sauce, and/or hot sauce?

[@nilo70]

Thank you Max , for serving it forth !

[@Rootsman417]

The amino acid profile of legumes and grains complement each other to help our body make the most protein. All plants have all the essential amino acids but not necessarily in a good ratio.

[@haksin2179]

I would like to see a sub series that talks about what different armies in the world ate.

[@melissacreamer8288]

That would be a cool one to do with Emmy since she has that MRE series

[@michaelpettersson4919]

Each army have some form of staple food. Taking potatoes to Europe allowed for mass armies. Here in Sweden we also have our traditional swedish pea soup made from remoisturised dried yellow peas typically with small cubes of pork and lots of custard. Thursday peasoup with pancakes for dessert become so popular with our soldiers that they took the traditional back to civilian life.

[@1810jeff]

It would probably be different types of preserved foods because otherwise it would be whatever food they recently raided.

[@j_mack1996]

I would watch it.

[@jeanc5199]

Depending on how far back you want to go a lot of it was whatever they could carry and pillage. Different types of food preservation and wealth of the army helped, and more modern canned goods made war whole new type of horror. Now leaders could worry less about keeping soldiers fed & focus on new weapons and strategies. As an aside, there is a Spam museum in Austin, Minnesota that has a lot of info about WWII and the benefits of canned meat. It's a strange and wonderful place.

[@SimuLord]

Now all you need is a good old Japanese source for chankonabe and combine it with the history of sumo wrestling. Some of the chankonabe recipes in the modern day are something that would be great at a restaurant.

[@MrMickio1]

Apparently many ex sumos that didnt make it big make a living opening chankonabe restaurants.

[@SimuLord]

@@MrMickio1 If one of them would kindly move to Seattle, that'd be lovely!

[@TheChzoronzon]

@@SimuLord *roll

[@LaLaura902]

September 28th was my birthday and I love the history about gladiators (and Rome/the colosseum). Awesome to see your video! Greetings from Germany

[@ssoozee]

You are so flipping awesome. I’m always surprised by the interesting historic tid-bits you find. Thank you!

[@zennvirus7980]

This episode was especially enjoyable to me, since I once translated to Spanish a manga called "Bestiarius", which depicts with great artistic flair and fantasy liberties the combats of the titular Bestiarius (the gladiator which specialized in fighting wild beasts), and their lives and tribulations during the reign of Titus Flavius Domitianus. The plethora of cultural references, like the Ludus, the Lanista, and many more, was a delight (and a pain) to research in order to properly explain them for the reader. As it happens with historically inspired stories like such, many liberties were taken (though Domitianus is properly assassinated at the end and succeeded by Nerva), and the Bestiari that compose the cast end up fighting many a mythological creature brought to the Colosseum for the games, including a British Wyvern, a Minotaur, a Behemoth, and even a Manticore, together with assortments of demi-humans like werewolves, elves, ghouls and goblins, to name a few. Fun read. And there is even a gag in one chapter precisely about the porridge, which is cooked by one of the characters (a Minotaur), which reportedly tastes awful (but mainly, the characters are just tired of the damn mush). Thank you, Max, this was a delightful stroll down the arena of my memories. You get your well deserved thumbs up 😉👍.

[@jgkitarel]

Reminds me of what we would say about military rations, especially after weeks in the field and eating the same damn shit day in and day out. You get tired of eating MREs, even though modern issuings have a lot more variety, very quickly if that's all your eating for weeks on end. Not helped by the fact that how palatable some are depends heavily on whether you have the time, or are simply allowed, to cook them with the FRH.

[@jeanfalconer6377]

How'd you manage to build that with two cats running around 😂😂

[@TastingHistory]

They keep pulling down the little trees 🌳

[@darkcursse2709]

I love the Machoke you have chillen on that little table behind you.

[@Gramavic]

This is the BEST channel on KZbin!!!! Just Wonderful!!! It’s so challenging to find anything of interest or substance on KZbin. Thank you so very much ❤️

[@WaterfaerysDomain]

Ok, so gladiators weren't beefy athletes, but chubby wind blowers. Wow, do movies lie lol. Russell Crowe may not have been too keen to play that role! Fascinating history, as always. I can't wait for part two in "Drinking History."

[@EvanHBogle]

Gladiatorial training emphasized speed and endurance. So while they might not have been hollywood ripped, they certainly weren't chubby or fat. And when Galen mentioned the "softness" of gladiator flesh, he was most likely referring to the fact that they were more vulnerable to disease.

[@SamuraiMujuru]

Sumo wrestlers are probably a decent frame of reference, I would suspect.

[@bustedkeaton]

Galen couldve just been lying.

[@georgehutto2157]

So, gladiators had dad bods? I'm cool with that. 🤷🏼‍♂️

[@ragnkja]

@@EvanHBogle More likely, they were muscular _and_ had a good bit of extra fat. They definitely weren’t the type of chubby that’s most common among sedentary people today.

[@darklabrynthlily]

I just want to say that your videos have been so comforting during this crazy time. My 9 yr old is has struggled with the isolation, but is showing an interest in cooking, so we've incorporated your videos into our homeschool and it's really gotten him excited to cook and learn and just get out of his head a bit.. Thank you for all the work you put in. It's very appreciated. 🥰

[@simone6090]

This has inspired me to get my ancient history class to try to put together an ancient recipe based on research. Thanks for the awesome Channel, It will likely become a regular presentation to my students.

[@taheelur1]

I've watched a lot of your videos but this one is probably my favorite so far.

[@StrangeCreed]

Preach, Max. My high school's marching band and drum line regularly took home championships for not just state, but the country as well. Who got all the funding? Our football team that barely kept up with the two neighboring towns.

[@gurgy3]

Pffft please. Marching band got all kinds of special treatment compared to other sports and clubs because of their use at the football games.

[@landynstella5977]

i guarantee you your football team made the school money. i don't understand why people get so peeved about it. Sure you brought home state and national awards but did you generate any revenue?

[@Julia-lk8jn]

@@landynstella5977 Outsider here: how does a not very successful football generate money? The whole idea of a school earning money from their sports Team is a bit alien to me. I figured sports teams _cost_ money, same as bands.

[@kevionrogers2605]

@@Julia-lk8jn booster clubs, donations, grants, fundraising, ticket sales, admission, concession, and apparel.

[@mahenonz]

@@kevionrogers2605 🤯 How it works in my country: free to play, although parents may need to buy some equipment eg. shoes. Officials, referees etc. usually volunteers. If a team wants to travel far from home the students fundraise by holding raffles, sausage sizzles etc. - sometimes for more than a year if it’s an overseas trip. And the spectators will all be parents. As for college sport, it’s just a way to unwind, keep fit and make friends - or an excuse to go to the pub after.

[@madyalvarez428]

I’d love to see you do a Halloween inspired recipe! Maybe an old Pagan recipe for Samhain/Halloween/All Hallow’s Eve?

[@1509hk]

@@joltjolt5060 dude, no

[@KL-wp8ip]

I didn't have any time to watch you for ages, and now that I'm finally back, it's such a delight nothing changed except for the variety of the topics for your videos and the number of subscribers! Ah, wonderful. But I also still want you to put some "pararara pararara pararam pam" tune at the end of the videos :333

[@sissiqi671]

I love your videos - I get to laugh, learn history, and get taught how to cook - all three in once.

[@lizzykay9912]

History is fun, gladiators sound a lot like modern pro-wrestlers. A lot of performance art and suffering, and occasionally a Rock star.

[@faroukabad]

yeah,, that is what I was thinking, Even the wrestlers bodies are softer, they don't usually look cut. I guess because they need to be flexible.

[@Jaska8000]

So many references to modern professional sport...like last but not the least the fact that ex-gladiators often became coaches and trainers of new gladiator-generation. And the fact that in the war they were actually not an elite group at all but the PR-value was huge...

[@Blinddenial]

I didn't know that I needed this in my life. Thank you.

[@BoozyBoog]

I’m so glad I found this channel, I love content like this!