Xylospongium
The xylospongium or tersorium, also known as "sponge on a stick", was a hygienic utensil used by ancient Romans to wipe their anus after defecating, consisting of a wooden stick (Greek: , "xylon") with a sea sponge (Greek: , "spongos") fixed at one end. The tersorium was shared by people using public latrines. To clean the sponge, they simply washed it in a bucket with water and salt or vinegar. This became a breeding ground for bacteria, causing the spread of disease in the latrine. In classical antiquity a "xylospongium" might be used as a toilet brush. In the "baths of  the seven sages" in Ostia, a fresco from the 2nd century contains the Inscription "(u)taris xylosphongio" which is the first known mention of the term. Also in the early second century a papyrus letter of Claudius Terentianus to his father Claudius Tiberianus uses the term "xylespongium" in a phrase. In the middle of the first century Seneca reported that a Germanic gladiator had committed suicide with a sponge on a stick. The Germanic gladiator hid himself in the latrine of an amphitheater and pushed the wooden stick into his gullet and choked to death.