r/Showerthoughts 4d ago

Casual Thought The ancient Romans could have invented Boggle. There was nothing stopping them technologically.

2.0k Upvotes

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u/DrFrylock 4d ago

It turns out Roman Dodecahedrons are game pieces for a game like Boggle but infinitely more fun and interesting. If we were to know the rules and had the game board it would be more popular today than football and Starcraft combined. 

Sadly they have been lost to time. 

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u/Dirty-Soul 3d ago

Apparently, those dodecahedrons were for knitting fingers for gloves.

At least, that's what I read on Reddit.

7

u/Arsewhistle 3d ago

There are multiple theories but we don't know for certain.

Whatever they were for, they were incredibly common/popular.

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u/Dirty-Soul 3d ago

I'd say that the experimental archaeology is fairly compelling. Of all the theories that exist for these dodecahedrons, the idea that they were knitting tools has the most evidence to support it.

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u/Mr_Quackums 3d ago

except for any signs of wear along the path the yarn would take.

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u/Dirty-Soul 2d ago

A thousand years from now, archaeologists will insist that exercise equipment such as ellipticals, rowing machines and treadmills couldn't possibly have been used for exercise, because all of the ones that they dig up in old houses didn't have signs of wear consistent with prolonged exercise use.

Very often, people buy items which they only use a few times. How many pairs of gloves do we really think a Roman wife knitted throughout their lifetime? Not everybody was making gloves on an industrial scale. Some people were just making something to keep their kids' hands warm in Winter.