World Toilet Day

OK … admittedly it’s not a subject that most would blog about and for many it’s a little uncomfortable to talk about much less celebrate but today is indeed World Toilet Day. So what’s to celebraite? Well, let me tell you that on a day like yesterday was with temperatures well below freezing, this old man was very thankful for not having to trudge out 50’ from the house to take care of business, not to mention those times of rain, sleet, snow, dark of night and you can probably think of a few more yourself.

Flush toilets are a lot older than some might think in fact there is sizeable evidence (no pun intended) of some found in the oldest Neolithic village in Britian dating from circa 31st century BC. In 1596 Sir John Harington installed a system for his Godmother Queen Elizabeth I at the Richmond Palace. The French adapted their own version named Angrez. Signicant improvements included the S-trap invented by Alexander Cummings in 1775 but his version had the tendency to freeze up in cold weather. Despite this it wasen’t until the mid-19th century, with growing levels of urbanization & industrialization this it was widly used, coinciding with the dramatic growth of sewage systems, first developed on a wide scale in London.

In America the modern outhouse remained popular, particular in farm country until up until nearly 1900. By the 1880’s the free standing water closet was released to the market place and gained instant popularity. During the 1930’s the plumber was held in high esteem with many life size posters showing these fellows in striking poses displaying their plungers akin to a septum. The promotion was part of the US wide drive to eliminate public health issues often directly related to poor sanitation issues that have all but completely disappeared in most non-third world countries. Contrary to popular myth, Thomas Crapper did not invent the first toilets in the USA but it did make many improvements of which quite a few are patented. He is also correctly credited with the terms of “crapper, crap, penny’s worth” and a few more.

Todays standard devices have reduced water use to as little as 1.3 gallons per flush and some use no waters, opting to burn the waste or compost it. While perhaps not as pleasant, many are extremely functional and for some locations, highly practical. And contrary to belief, the direction of the swirl in the toilet is not governed by the Coriolis effect but more by the directions of the jets beneath the bowl (a suitable bit of trivia great for any party). Dealing with waste aboard ships and airplanes …. Well, maybe you’re better off not knowing that one but never let the topic of “blue ice” every become part of your discussion at the local pub.

So, be it ever so humble, the modern toilet has done a great deal for helping mankind through the past few centuries and no doubt into the future. Many thanks to the pioneers that have spent their lives improving on this modern necessity and fellows … you’re out of the caves now so please remember to always put the seat down!

So, now you’ve got all the poop on this one …. Oh, sorry, sometimes I simply cannot help myself!