With entertainment value in mind, the Circus Maximus appears to have been designed for maximum carnage. Races were very competitive and often fatal.

The Colosseum was built in the center of Rome above an artificial lake, once part of Nero's Golden House gardens. The pit was filled in, and the construction initiated by Emperor Vespasian in A.D. 72. It was completed by his son, Emperor Titus, in A.D. 80. The Collosseum is also known as the Favian Amphitheatre.

Using community latrines could be a dangerous and frightening experience. Hydrogen and methane gas in the underground pipes would build up and explode, causing flames to billow out from the seat opening.

Because walnuts resemble the human brain, Romans believed they would be beneficial for cranial issues. Unearthed remains from ancient Ephesus have shown a high percentage of gladiators died from head trauma. (See First Century Life: Gladiators)

Walled cities had large guarded gates that closed at night. If a person wished to enter or exit after dark, a tiny narrow door, called the eye of the needle, was opened within the main gate. If he was travelling with cargo, the camel or mule would have to be laboriously unloaded and forced through the small opening. Matthew 19:24 "...It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God." (See Puzzling Scriptures: The Needle's Eye)

An additional remedy was to eat a small portion of lead. In Rome, anyone could refer to themselves as a doctor, including women. No formal medical training was required.

The scale of Nero's Golden House, if completed, would have spanned a third of the city of Rome.

Pulse is mentioned in the Old Testament books of Daniel and Second Samuel, and is generally thought to be vegetables or a legume-type of plant, such as peas or lentils.

Caesar's corpse was carried to the Roman Forum on an ivory couch, and placed on the Rostra in a gilded shrine. A mechanical device, positioned above the bier itself, rotated an upright wax image of the murdered body. His 23 wounds were viewed by the crowd in gruesome detail. The funeral pyre burned throughout the night, and after Caesar was deified by the senate, Augustus built a temple on the cremation site.

Built in the wake of the Egyptian conquest, this pyramid shaped tomb is 20-meters high, and dates between 18 B.C. and 12 B.C. Family members would often venture out of the city to picnic with the deceased. Some tombs featured integrated drop-tubes so that food and wine could be shared with the departed.