Ancient forms of toilets have been around for thousands of years, starting at the rather unsanitary cesspool. A cesspool was essentially a large hole that was dug out for the purpose of filling it up with raw sewage. Cesspools were a short-term solution, often filling up in a few year's time. People had to start thinking up better ways to remove sewage from the household or else the world would become a big, stinky mess.
The first modern flushable toilet was invented in 1596 by Sir John Harrington, an English courtier and the godson of Queen Elizabeth I. Harrington's device called for a two-foot-deep oval bowl waterproofed with pitch, resin, and wax and was fed by water from an upstairs cistern. This toilet required 7.5 gallons to flush, a lot of water for the time. This number had to be reduced somehow, as this was far too much water.
In 1775, Alexander Cumming was granted the first patent for a flush toilet. His greatest innovation was the S-shaped pipe below the bowl that prevented sewer gas from entering through the toilet. Another man by the name of Thomas Crapper worked on and improved the flush toilet that Cumming had invented. Soon, Crapper's name would become synonymous with toilets, even going so far as to give a toilet the nickname "crapper".
Fun Facts:
- The English word "crap" was invented far before Thomas Crapper was born.
- An average person visits the toilet about 2,500 times a year.
- Unfortunately, nearly 20% of the population still defecates in the open.
Thomas Crapper:
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