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3,600-Year-Old Disposable Cups Shows That Even Our Early Ancestors Hated Doing Dishes

2020-01-05 , 9:00 am

Everyone loves eating but no one likes washing the dishes (unless you’re a weirdo, of course). So, at the start of your meal, you’re as happy as can be with a plate full of food and an eager mouth.

But then it’s all gone and you’re left with this dirty, disgusting plate that you have to clean with soap and water.

After a heavy meal, standing seems physically impossible, let alone moving your hands in a clockwise rotation. So, you just leave it in the sink, hoping your dog will learn how to do the dishes without opposable thumbs.

Don’t beat yourself up though, even our early ancestors were lazy bastards.

3,600-Year-Old Disposable Cups Shows That Even Our Early Ancestors Hated Doing Dishes

A 3,600-year-old cup, designed to be thrown away after a single use, will go on display at the British Museum in London.

According to CNN, the handleless clay cup was made by the Minoans – one of the first advanced European civilizations – between 1700 and 1600 BC.

Thousands of these cups were discovered on the Greek island of Crete. Experts believe they were used to drink wine and were designed to be used just once and thrown away after feasts.

Image: Trustees of the British Museum via CNN

“The elite were showing off their wealth and status by throwing these great big parties, feasts, and festivals,” Julia Farley, a curator at the British Museum, told the PA Media news agency.

“People were getting together in large groups and much like today, nobody wants to do the washing-up,” she added.

Sound familiar?

Single-use products

We do the exact same thing when we have birthday parties, weddings, and other celebratory events. The difference is that we dispose of plastic cups and plates, while these Minoans used clay cups.

You see, clay cups are eco-friendly because they’re biodegradable. Moreover, they are easily broken, which means they can be reused as a base for new cups or pots.

“People may be very surprised to know that disposable, single-use cups are not the invention of our modern consumerist society, but in fact can be traced back thousands of years,” Farley said.

“Three and a half thousand years ago, the Minoans were using them for a very similar reason to us today: to serve drinks at parties. The only difference is the material,” she said.

So, while we both hate doing the dishes, at least the Minoans’ laziness wasn’t damaging the environment.

Earth: Halppp

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but the planet is dying. If Earth were a human, it’d be in the ICU on life-support.

As CNN reports, the packaging is filling up landfills and polluting our oceans, where materials like plastic and polystyrene that we often use and dispose of without recycling can take centuries to decompose.

Saving the world sounds like a tough task, but we all can do simple things like bringing your own bag to the supermarket and carrying a metal straw around.

If our ancestors could do it, so can we.

3,600-Year-Old Disposable Cups Shows That Even Our Early Ancestors Hated Doing Dishes

3,600-Year-Old Disposable Cups Shows That Even Our Early Ancestors Hated Doing Dishes

Single-use products

Earth: Halppp

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