The Erfurt latrine disaster of 1184 offers a bizarre mix of tragedy and comedy.

The somewhat muddy historical account tells the tale of a meeting of nobles gone awry after they drowned in excrement inside a church in modern-day Germany.

The incident, known in German as Erfurter Latrinensturz, was an unbelievable disaster.

But it was also a product of the political strife of the times — and it highlighted just how far society still needed to advance.