Page "Cleopatra VII" Paragraph 27

There are a number of unverifiable stories about Cleopatra, of which one of the best known is that, at one of the lavish dinners she shared with Antony, she playfully bet him that she could spend ten million sesterces on a dinner.

He accepted the bet.

The next night, she had a conventional, unspectacular meal served ; he was ridiculing this, when she ordered the second course — only a cup of strong vinegar.

She then removed one of her priceless pearl earrings, dropped it into the vinegar, allowed it to dissolve, and drank the mixture.

The earliest report of this story comes from Pliny the Elder and dates to about 100 years after the banquet described would have happened.

The calcium carbonate in pearls does dissolve in vinegar, but slowly unless the pearl is first crushed.