Roman Justice

who literally bought himself a seat in Parliament. He paid every voter ten pounds, costing him roughly ten thousand pounds. Mitton was inevitably elected for his generosity, but his term was cut short by himself. He sat in on one thirty minute meeting in the House of Commons and decided it wasn't for him. He never came back. Oh and he also reportedly arrived at one of his own dinner parties riding the top of bear named Nell, and occasionally

hunted wild game wearing nothing but his birthday suit. A unique individual, to say the least. Then there was Heady Green, the Witch of Wall Street, allegedly worth tens of billions of dollars, which she earned by being incredibly stingy. Rather than rent in office, she worked out of trunks she kept at the bank. She also donned the same black clothes every day until they were too tattered to wear. She barely bathed or heated her home to save on

living costs. To Finally, we have Matthew Robinson, second Baron Rokebury. By all accounts, Lord Rokebury had a fairly standard upbringing for someone of his station. He was born in Yorkshire, England, around into a family of six brothers and two sisters. Large, yes, but also incredibly sophisticated and well rounded. Among his siblings were authors, legal writers, clerics and members of parliament. With such a successful brood, it took a lot for Lord

Rokeby to stand out. After he graduated college, he became a Fellow of the Royal Society, an honor bestowed upon people who had contributed to the advancement of math, engineering and medicine. Around the same time, his mother passed away and left him a property she owned in Kent. Her untimely death came with an inheritance and bigger responsibilities, which perhaps led to her son's increased stress. It was after he had vacationed in a German spa town when Lord

Rokeby developed a passion for baths. He loved the sensation of submerging his body in water, of cleansing himself of the day's dirt and grime. But he didn't just want to be clean. Lord Rokeby practically lived in the water. He was obsessed with it, lounging in it, drinking it, being around it at all times. He preached its benefits to anyone who would listen. He often traveled to the shore and spent entire days in the ocean until someone

would come and fetch him out of the water. Occasionally he would pass out there and have to be saved from drowning. Eventually, though, it became too much of a hassle to travel to the ocean, so he moved out of his large mansion and into a small hut on the coast so he could be closer to the water. He even had drinking fountains installed along the route just in case he got thirsty, and whenever he saw someone else drinking from one of them, he'd give them half

a crown. But not everyone supported this new hydrated lifestyle. The neighbors were worried about him, as were his siblings, so Lord Rokeby retreated to his mansion, where he kept to himself. He stopped venturing outside for any reason, instead having a swimming pool installed surrounded by glass to trap the sunlight in and keep the water warm. He swam even in the dead of winter and refused to light a fire to heat the rest of the house. To him,

the swimming pool was enough. He also grew his beard longer than any of his peers and reduced his food intake to beef, broth and venison. He awaited doctors. He only worshiped within the walls of the mansion, never joining the rest of the community at local church services. With all the dietary changes and reclusive behaviors, one might think Lord Rokeby couldn't live that long. After all, he barely ate anything, and most of what he ate was meat based.

But he also gave up bread, corn, and sugar, dietary choices that might sound all too familiar to people today who hope to lose weight and regain control of their bodies. As a result of his daily regiment, Lord Rokeby lived the ripe old age of eight. He died peacefully in his bed, although there's no word on whether he was buried at sea, but you can bet that's what he would have wanted. Roman emperor's weren't known for their forgiveness. The Emperor Tiberius, who ruled from a d. Fourteen to

thirty seven, was a paranoid tyrant. Longer he reigned, the more suspicious he grew of everyone around him. After he thwarted an attempted coup by one of his advisors, he fled to the island of Capri and used an ancient edict to execute anyone he even suspected of treason. The Emperor Nero knew how to rule, which he did from a d. Fifty four to sixty eight, and surrounded himself with knowledgeable advisers, but he was also a serial killer. First he took care of his stepbrother, who he was

worried would take the throne away from him. Then he had his wife killed so that he could be with his mistress, Popeia, who then encouraged him to murder his mother. One big, happy family, right. But galleanis Emperor of Rome from two fifty three to two sixty eight. Was perhaps the most feared of them all. He came from a rich and politically powerful family and quickly gained a reputation

as a strategic military mind. His forces prevented countless invasions and helped to secure several important areas of modern day Europe for the Empire. But that sort of military work required troops on several fronts. He put one of his sons in charge of stopping an invasion in the east while he focused on protecting the west. As a result of these distractions, a governor named Ingenuous declared himself emperor

in Galiennis's place. Well, that didn't sit well with the real emperor, who rushed back home and took the governor's forces head on. When Ingenious was killed, Galliennis reclaimed his rightful place as Roman emperor. But that's not why Galliennis was so feared. His brilliance extended far beyond his military prowess to how he handled the public. He once put a gladiator against a large bull, but the gladiator didn't perform as expected. A poor fighter tried over ten consecutive

times to kill the bull and failed each time. The crowd expected something to happen to the gladiator for his failure. Perhaps another animal, such as a lion, might be brought out to take him on, or another person for him to fight. Galiennis, though, had another idea. He had a crown brought out to the young man and placed atop his head. Everyone in attendance was shocked someone as low as a gladiator to be crowned it was unheard of, And then Galiennas had a herald announced to the crowd.

It is a difficult thing not to wound a bull. So many times. Along with his formidable military mind, it seemed the emperor had a sense of humor. He wasn't always so kind, though. One time, a local merchant had sold Galiennis his wife some jewels. She quickly discovered that they weren't of any value at all and were actually just colored glass. The emperor was furious. He ordered his guards to find the merchant, snatch him up, and throw

him to the lions. He had the city gather in the colosseum, just as they had done for the gladiator. This would teach anyone planning on cheating the emperor or his wife to think twice. A merchant cowered in the center of the ring as spectators looked on, and somewhere a lion roared, scaring him so much that the poor man wet himself in front of everyone Onlookers laughed as they waited for the beast to show itself. Gallienis held out until the crowd was at a fever pitch, and

then he gave the signal. The gate was lifted, and from the darkened wings of the Colosseum came a terrifying and intimidating chicken. Yeah, a chicken. The people, surprised at first, soon burst into laughter. They've never seen anything like it. The Emperor, laughing right along with them, announced to the crowd he has deceived, and then was himself deceived. The merchant had served his time as the butt of a joke for all of Rome, and then was free to go. But I doubt he was ever able to eat a

bite of chicken never again. I hope you've enjoyed today's guided too of the Cabinet of Curiosities. Subscribe for free on Apple Podcasts, or learn more about the show by visiting Curiosities podcast dot com. The show was created by me Aaron Mankey in partnership with how Stuff Works, I make another award winning show called Lore, which is a podcast, book series, and television show and you can learn all about it over at the world of Lore dot com. And until next time, stay curious.