Can you imagine the world without toilets? Of course not. It is as essential as the four basic elements of Earth. Gone are those times when we preferred defecation in the open. With changing times, the mindsets of people have also changed instinctively. Leading us to ponder on the question, have you ever been faced with an urge of going to the toilet in the middle of work? You must have.
The old fashioned saying that ‘when you’ve got to, you go’ is true to a great extent and is applied by us on an everyday basis. The antiquated term ‘toilet’ has innumerable fancy names which attack our brain tanks when we got to go such as ‘bathroom, ‘lavatory,' 'the water closet’ and more.
The use of lavatory on an everyday basis has become a pivotal part of our lives in the present times, unlike the times where we sat anywhere in open to complete our morning ritual. We use the toilet, wash our hands and get going with our day without giving much thought to the evolution of the revolutionary word ‘Toilet.' But let us not forget that there are still some places on the map that don’t have access to toilets even after modernisation. So, let's stop taking washrooms for a ride and have a look at how the toilets came into existence.
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Here's a fact for you! Did you know there is a special day dedicated to toilets called the ‘World Toilet Day’ which is celebrated through out the world on November 19? The event is hosted by the World Toilet Organization to raise understanding about 2.5 billion people who reside in the world without proper cleanliness. While the day is dedicated to generating awareness, it is important to know who invented the ‘flush toilets’? Historians iterate that many of the old toilets to use water were developed by ‘Indus Valley Civilization’ somewhere around 5,000 years ago. Some other experts believe that ancient toilets using water probably would have existed around 12,000 years ago.
In spite of these old inventions, flush toilets are a recent invention. They were invented using the brain of Sir John Harrington in 1956. His bathroom imbibed a valve that would free water from a tank to get waste into the bowl. He named his toilet as ‘Ajax’ and his first installations was for his god mother, namely, Queen Elizabeth I at Richmond Palace.
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But the flush toilet was caught on after a long time. With the increase in technology that befriended ‘Industrial Revolution’ helped in increasing the development of the flush toilets. We must also know that Alexander Cumming has curated a toilet element known as ‘S-trap’ in the year 1775. His designs are still used in some way in toilets of today’s times. I’m sure you must have understood what is ‘S-trap’ all about? If you still didn’t, let us help you in thanking the great man! Look at your toilet closely today, and you will notice a that the bowl is not flushed out straight rather it follows an S-shaped road. This plan permits standing water to seal off the bowl so that sewer gases cannot rise to the surface and escape into the air in your bathroom.
Also, if you make efforts to look into the history of toilets in deeper depths, there is another name likely to stumble upon that is ‘Thomas Crapper.' A lot of people credit Crapper for inventing flush toilets. Although, he cannot claim the product since he was a plumber in England who had collected many patents for improving toilet innovation in the late 1800s. Also, Crapper was awarded nine patents for plumbing inventions during his lifetime, three of them consisting of improvements to the flushing water closet, or toilet, as it is known in present times.
If you wish to understand more about toilets, then look at the following points:
Take an expedition to your toilet. Learn basic plumbing just by merely looking at it closely. Explore its functioning. Remove the lid of the tank and look inside with curiosity. With the lid not on the tank, flush your toilet and examine how the parts in motion work! Have a lot of fun in comprehending your toilet more efficiently. Share your story of learning with us by leaving comments in the box below. We would love to hear from you!
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