16 Oldest Surviving Examples Of Everyday Things

Though we cannot try on some of the oldest clothes to see how they looked on people for obvious reasons, it was a different case when people found an ancient written Chinese beer recipe that spiked an interest in recreating it. A group of students with Stanford archaeologist Li Liu in 2017 decided to brew a beer following a decoded recipe that is 5000 years old.

The result was described like this: “The ancient Chinese beer looked more like porridge and likely tasted sweeter and fruitier than the clear, bitter beers of today. The ingredients used for fermentation were not filtered out, and straws were commonly used for drinking,” said Liu.

I guess not all of the findings are ones we would like to try on at all. For example, the oldest surviving condom should probably give it a rest at the rightful age of 370 years old. Though condoms are known to have been used for thousands of years, this is the oldest surviving example that looks nothing like what we use today.

Another hot find was a medieval bra found in a castle. Though this is not gold or other treasures, for the archeologist Beatrix Nutz, it is as valuable, if not more. “It was found under the wooden floor between the first and second floors. Lengberg Castle was renovated in 2008 when they found a cavity filled with all sorts of rubbish. Among them were textiles that have been well preserved because it was very dry there. The most unusual pieces are a pair of panties and four brassieres made of white linen. These are the oldest bras found so far,” wrote Beatrix.

Though all of the findings are fascinating in their own way, the only thought that comes into my head is how grateful I am for living in this day and age. And knowing that all things tend to evolve, I wonder what aspects of our current reality, which seem entirely ordinary to us now, will give future generations the creeps.