S5, Ep 4 Taking the piss: pee, wee and piddle

Have you ever thought about the importance of wee? Urine, to give it its proper name, has flowed through human history.

The Romans used it to whiten their togas as well as their teeth. Children in the Middle Ages worked as piss collectors because it was such a valued product in the leather and wool industries. In times of war wee has come into its own. Stale pee was used in the manufacture of gun powder. In the absence of clean water, it was used to disinfect wounds. And soldiers in the First World War placed urine-socked socks over their mouths to protect themselves from chlorine gas (when there weren't enough gas masks to go round).

There is so much more to wee than the waste liquid we flush down the toilet each day.

Narrated by Laura Howarth

Script by Henrietta McMicking

Produced by Camilla Akers-Douglas

Sound editing by Lou Sawdy

Theme music by James Burrell Music

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