Charlee Moss

5/13/13

History of the Toilet

2500 Bc: The Harappan city dwellers of the Indus Valley build the earliest known indoor toilets.

Toilets do not flush

Empty into a brick-lined sewer system.

Going Inside

1500 bc: Plumbers on island of Crete install the world's first flush toilet in the queen's bathroom.

Royal Flush

800 bc: Rome, construction of the Cloaca Maxima takes place.

Sewer system carries city's waste to Tiber River

Citizens use public toilets built above sewer.

Only a sponge on end of a stick Roman latrine-users have to share.

Really Public Bathrooms

1300 AD: Europeans do business in outhouses

English outhouse cleaner, Richard the Raker

Richard falls through floor and drowns

This Job is the Pits

1500s: Many European city¬ dwellers relieve themselves indoors in a chamber pot.

When the pot is full, toss contents out window, shouting "Gardy-loo!"

Heads Up

1857: Joseph Gayetty of New York introduces toilet paper.

Each sheet is printed with Gayetty's signature.

People used whatever they could find

A Charmin’ Idea

1672: Devoted readers can buy a chamber pot disguised as a stack of books

One of the most popular models of chamber pots in France.

Bathroom Reading

1775: An English watchmaker Alexander Cummings makes S-trap

A valve that keeps the bowl filled with water.

Allows poop to go down without letting smells come up.

Stop Making Scents

1885: Englishman Thomas Twyford introduces the Unitas

First one-Piece, all-ceramic toilet

eliminates leaky joints These ceramic toilets are covered with decorations

Sculptured Seats

1999: The Matsushita Electronic Industrial Company of Japan previews high-tech bowl

Measures your weight and body-fat content

Minding Your Business

• The toilet handle in a public restroom can have up to 40,000 germs per square inch.

• King George II of Great Britain died falling off a toilet on the 25th of October 1760

• We use an average of 57 sheets of toilet paper a day.

Fun Facts