Has anyone considered that it might've just been a novelty? A fancy paperweight?...

lou1306 · 2025-07-17T09:33:06 1752744786

> Has anyone considered that it might've just been a novelty? A fancy paperweight?

This just got me thinking, it would likely take us hours to explain an ancient Roman what a "paperweight" is. The fact that paper a) exists, b) is our main writing support, and c) can be made so lightweight that a slight breeze can blow a stack of it away would be mind-blowing

Ekaros · 2025-07-17T09:36:29 1752744989

Paperweights would be even greater use for Romans. As often they were wound up on scrolls which means that some item stopping them from wounding up again when unwound would be rather useful.

adrian_b · 2025-07-17T09:49:57 1752745797

Long scrolls were normally read by unwrapping them from a stick, while wrapping them again on another stick, i.e. like magnetic tapes are read now.

So the two sticks kept the scroll unwound around the reading position.

griffzhowl · 2025-07-17T09:48:43 1752745723

They had papyrus so I don't think paper would have been that mind-blowing

mr_toad · 2025-07-17T10:15:58 1752747358

They also used vellum/parchment.

colechristensen · 2025-07-17T10:30:29 1752748229

Archaeologists do have a bias towards "if we don't know what it was, it was a religious artifact".

InsideOutSanta · 2025-07-17T11:13:22 1752750802

"Ancient Americans used to worship a monkey god they called Labubu. It is the only explanation for the prevalence of these terrifying idols."

colechristensen · 2025-07-17T13:06:55 1752757615

I met a Labubu priestess in a bar a couple of weeks ago divulging the mysteries of the Labubu cult.