The History of the Toilet
The toilet is a staple in daily life. It is a vital necessity for homes and businesses alike and even requires its very own room dedicated just for housing it.
The toilet is so important, in fact, that it has merited its very own day reserved to celebrate its existence: World Toilet Day, which falls on November 19th. It is a special piece of equipment indeed.
But does the average person really stop to appreciate the toilet? Most people take this device for granted, and don’t think twice about its usefulness it is doing their daily business.
Before the Invention of the Toilet
Humans have had the need to void waste since the beginning of time, but the toilet as we know it today has not been around that long. Before we had the porcelain throne of today, humans were creating all sorts of different ways to use the bathroom.
Among the earliest contraptions included stone huts which are believed to have been used as bathrooms as they were equipped with drains.
In Ancient Rome, people were doing their business in public bathhouses: an invention resembling a long bench designed for humans to void waste. And Medieval England is known for its garderobe: a room dedicated to bathroom needs with an opening through which humans could do their business. These rooms were used by royalty and were strategically built over moats so that the excrement would collect there.
The Toilet’s Early Days
As time passed, the invention of the beginnings of the toilet we use today came to be: a box with a lid. This was much more effective for people, they could hide their waste contraptions from view, mask the odors with herbs, and the boxes could be cleaned. However, the real breakthrough came from a man named Sir John Harrington.
Harrington was the first to invent a device that was eventually tweaked into being the toilet we know today. He came up with the idea for a bowl to collect the waste and then be removed using a small pipe through which water could be released.
Eventually, a man named Alexander Cummings improved this invention by replacing Harrington’s pipe with the S-shaped pipe, which was effective in keeping the unpleasant odors associated with the previous toilet at bay. By the end of the 18th century, the flushable toilet was a common item.
The Evolution and Improvements of the Toilet
The toilet was perfected into the contraption we know it as today in the 20th century. During this time, many of the luxuries and conveniences associated with the toilets that we use today came to be such as water tanks being placed on top of the bowl, flushable valves, and even mass production of toilet paper.
The evolution of the toilet continues on today as we continue to tweak the effectiveness of toilets, ensure that our devices are environmentally friendly, and companies continue to develop better products to meet the consumer’s demands.
If you live in the West Covina area, and are having toilet troubles, Call Daniel Cordova Plumbing, Drain & Sewer at (626) 962-0885 and find out how you can get your toilet back!