“The Romans had some crazy ideas” - well, at least on bathing we have to disagree. Even back then people knew about the healing and relaxing effect of a lengthy soak in the bath. And baths occupied a very important place in the life of the Romans.
Bathing as the focal point of the life of the Roman community
For the ancient Romans (just like us today), baths were used for relaxation and cleaning purposes and were taken regularly. But the social aspect of communal bathing was important, too: Thermal baths were places where people met, communicated or even conducted business negotiations. The ancient Romans even used the baths for religious acts.