How many bathrooms have Neanderthals in the tile?

Title and language confusion

• Many commenters struggled to parse the headline, reading it as:
  • “How many bathrooms did Neanderthals have?”
  • “How many bathrooms in the Netherlands have tile?”
  • Or a Google/Microsoft-style Fermi question.
• The title is seen as a “garden-path sentence”; several propose clearer variants like inserting “remains embedded” after “Neanderthals.”
• Some interpreted it as about Neanderthal-themed tile designs or even CAPTCHAs before reading the article.

Are Neanderthals “human”? Terminology debate

• Disagreement over whether “human remains” includes Neanderthals:
  • One side: all members of Homo should be considered human; “humanoid” is not a valid taxonomic term.
  • Others: in common usage “human” usually means Homo sapiens; they cite dictionary/Wikipedia usage and note ambiguity.
• A side discussion touches on species vs. subspecies status of Neanderthals and whether legal definitions of “human” differ from scientific ones.

Reporting discovered remains: law, safety, and practicality

• The article’s suggestion to contact authorities if a jawbone is found in tile is heavily debated.
• Concerns raised:
  • Fear of paperwork, investigations, or being entangled in crime-scene procedures for what is almost certainly an ancient fossil.
  • Specific anxiety about police involvement, especially in places where interactions can be dangerous or records might be misinterpreted.
• Counterpoints:
  • Many jurisdictions regulate human remains; some argue you are “supposed” to report them.
  • Some suggest contacting archaeologists, universities, or other agencies instead of police when possible.

Detecting fossils in stone non-destructively

• CT scanning is cited as a viable method for imaging fossils inside rock blocks and eggs, but limited by scanner size and cost.
• Ground-penetrating radar and other geophysical methods can detect larger underground structures but lack fine resolution for bones.
• Industrial approaches could image both sides of sliced stone with computer vision to catch interesting pieces before shipment.
• Commenters jokingly escalate to “CT scan the planet” or use neutrino imaging, recognizing these as absurd in practice.

Emotional reactions to having a jawbone in tile

• Some find the idea deeply unsettling or “horrifying” and would replace such a tile immediately.
• Others would be thrilled, calling it the coolest possible house feature and offering to buy such tiles from those who don’t want them.
• A middle position notes that we already build with vast amounts of once-living material (limestone from marine organisms, cities “built out of skeletons”), so this is more a matter of visibility and identifiability than principle.

Geology, materials, and time-scale reflections

• Commenters discuss:
  • Travertine and certain limestones as hydrothermal or sedimentary deposits forming more rapidly than “millions of years” in some cases.
  • Distinctions between calcium carbonate (shells, corals, limestone) and calcium phosphate (bones, teeth).
• Some express sadness at unique geological formations being cut, installed briefly, then discarded; others note that exposure in buildings allows more people to see and appreciate them than if left buried.
• Reuse and reclamation of stone (including marble and counters) is mentioned; opinions differ on how common this actually is.

Related sites, media, and fossil-rich architecture

• Commenters reference:
  • Archaeology TV content and online series about digs and ancient humans.
  • Fossil-rich tiles and marble visible in subway stations, European cities, and even grocery store floors.
• Personal anecdotes include childhood lessons about fossil tracks, visits to Homo erectus sites, and the sense of “deep time” when walking over fossil-laden stone.