Modern man cannot imagine his life without this household item. We are so accustomed to it that we do not think about how this miracle of technology arose. And the history of this subject is very interesting. Before figuring out who invented the toilet, it's interesting to know how people lived at the beginning of history.
When you haven't heard of toilets
Can you imagine a world without a single toilet? And there was such a time. Almost everywhere where ancient people stopped, archaeologists find dug and fenced pits, with fossils from feces. The age of such toilets is determined at 5 thousand years.
Lavories found off the coast of Scotland arranged like ruts in stone walls leading into a sewer. A little later, toilets became a little more civilized, but they were far from the invention of the toilet.
First Sewerage
The first mention of sewage refers to the ancient Indus civilization. The city of Mohenjo-Daro appeared around 2600 BC. e. and existed for about 900 years. That is, the settlement flourished during the time of ancient Egypt. It is considered one of the most advancedSouth Asia at that time.
No wonder such a developed area had the first public latrines and even a sewerage system throughout the city. The walls of the drains were finished with brick, and on top they were covered with limestone, which had a disinfecting effect. The depth of the canals reached 60 cm. Bridges were built over the widest places for the convenience of pedestrians. Waste flows through sewers through sedimentation tanks. All solid particles remained in them, which were later used as fertilizer.
Toilets were built in the form of brick boxes, and the seats on them were made of wood. On vertical trays, waste descended into a sewer or a special pit.
Toilets of ancient Rome for the poor
The toilets of ordinary poor people were in many ways similar to modern street structures preserved in small towns and villages. They were stone cabins with a hole in the floor. The sewage went into the pit under the hole. They were cleaned only after they were completely filled, which greatly outraged visitors. They expressed their dissatisfaction with eloquent writing on the walls, which further encourages memories of the current latrines.
Public restrooms for the elite in ancient Rome
Although Rome wasn't the place where the toilet was invented, their luxury toilets have become history. These were marble benches arranged in a circle. Sometimes the seats were decorated with paintings.
True, there were no partitions between the seats, so one could only dream of privacy. But, judging by the findings of archaeologists,The ancient Romans did not need it. Restrooms were used as a meeting place, where the necessary business was combined with the usual chatter. Not everyone could afford such gatherings, since the emperor decided to collect money from we althy visitors to latrines.
Toilets were equipped with a sewer with running streams that flush sewage into the Tiber River. In such places there were murmuring fountains, incense was carried, an orchestra and singing birds drowned out sounds unpleasant to the ear. Around were slaves, whose duties included keeping the toilets clean, and sometimes warming the marble seats for the owners with their bodies.
For all the apparent thoughtfulness, the sewerage of that time was far from perfect. Some canals were clogged with silt to the point of complete obstruction in just one year.
Smelly Europe
The following years did not benefit the improvement of latrines. Modern man would be horrified by the medieval order. The castles of those times were felt 2 km away by the characteristic smell. One of the reasons for the stench was the sewage moat around the building. It was filled thanks to the latrines, arranged right in the walls with a round hole in the protruding slab. Outwardly, the extensions looked like a reduced copy of ordinary balconies. Such structures were called "bay windows".
It was rare to find a castle without a sharp stench. Only lakes instead of the usual ditches helped to reduce the strength of the amber. Noble residents of the Louvre were forced to leave the castle from time to time so that it could be washed and aired.
"Fragrances" spread not only a bunch of sewage around the castle. No matter how wild it may sound for a person accustomed to the conveniences, it was considered quite normal to relieve oneself where necessary. It could be a courtyard, a staircase, a corridor, or a secluded place behind a curtain. Not least of all in the norms of behavior was diarrhea, provoked by terrifying unsanitary conditions.
All this happened not in abandoned villages, but in world-famous cities: Paris, Madrid, London, etc. The streets were filled with sewage and waste, free-roaming pigs also did not contribute to cleanliness. When the mess was diluted with rain, people got up on stilts, because it became impossible to move in the usual way.
Chambery in the Middle Ages
Chamber pots were widely used, brightly included in the history of the creation of toilet bowls. The first representatives were made of copper, but over time, the vessels began to represent the viability of the owner. The pots of the rich became faience, with elaborate paintings and decorated with stones.
Demonstrate this magnificence even at balls. The vessel for the dear guest majestically swept over those present, just as pathetically carried away filled.
The whole of Europe instead of complex sewer systems has chosen the simplest way: pouring the contents of the chamber pot out the window. In Paris, the upcoming action was warned by a cry: "Attention, pouring!". There is an opinion that it was thanks to this habit that they introduced the fashion for wide-brimmed hats.
Failed attempt to create the first toilet
Standingsthe Middle Ages were not due to the lack of ideas for ennoblement. The stench of the French court inspired Leonardo da Vinci to design the first toilet. The scientist thought over and drew systems for water supply, drainage into the sewer and even ventilation. But he never became the one who invented the toilet. The king did not appreciate the idea, and the court continued to use pots.
Milan, unlike France, decided to take the advice of a genius, and equipped sewers throughout the city. Ditches were made under the streets, into which all waste fell through holes in the pavement.
Who invented the toilet for the first time
The cistern was invented for Elizabeth I by her godson. John Harington was the first to invent the toilet. And in what year did it happen? In 1596 But the system did not take root. The toilet remained in the form of a night vase, but a container with water appeared above it, washing off the sewage. The drain procedure was started using a special valve.
It cost 30s 6d to build, which was quite expensive. But the invention avoided wide distribution not because of the cost, but due to the lack of water supply and sewerage at that time. The updated outhouse did not solve the problem of smells, since the sewage was not removed outside the castle, but remained under the same vase.
New ideas have not changed the old habits of the nobility. For Louis the First, it was quite common during a conversation to change the throne from an ordinary one to a special one with a round hole in the seat and a pot at the bottom. Catherine de Medici had a similar toilet, decorated with red velvet. And shealso did not disdain to meet guests on a kind of chair. After the death of her husband, the color of the pot changed to black, so that no one would doubt the widow's grief.
At the same time, small oblong-shaped pots that ladies carried with them became fashionable. Vessels allowed a woman in a wide skirt to relieve herself right in a public place.
Further evolution of the toilet
By 1775, London had already acquired sewage, which allowed the metropolitan watchmaker to become the first to invent a toilet with a drain. 1778 was marked by the invention of a cast-iron structure and a lid to improve sanitation. The new look has become widespread among users. Soon enameled steel and faience were used for vessels.
Most of all of those who invented the toilet, mankind remembered the name of Thomas Crapper. Even in our times, the British call toilet bowls "crappers". A similar word was coined for a long stay in the restroom - "crap".
The subject familiar today received a special distribution in the nineteenth century. This was not due to a cultural breakthrough, but because of the rapid spread of diseases that forced the government to intervene.
It is not known exactly who invented the U-pipe toilet and in what year, but it was a significant breakthrough. The new discovery made it possible to rid the room of sewage odors. Then they invented a chain with a handle to start the drain and a truck crane to run water into the tank.
In 1884, the name UNITAS was first used. This word meant "unification of aspirations." Thomas Twyford created a faience container, and the seat was made of wood. Presented the toilet in the capital of England at the international exhibition.
Active toilet spreading
Russia has taken up active production of the device. Already in 1912, one firm produced 40,000 items. The figure began to grow rapidly: in 1929, 150 thousand toilet bowls were manufactured in one year, and at the beginning of Stalin's rule - 280 thousand.
Today, no civilized person can imagine his life without a toilet bowl in the apartment. Many companies invent new designs, but the usual white, made of earthenware, remains the most common.
