Toilets of the World
Welcome to the Toilets of the World
Are you wondering why people hoard toilet paper? Wondering how to use a bidet, or even what a bidet is? Curious about what the toilets are like in other countries? Toilets from ancient history? Do you wonder who invented the flush toilet? (It wasn't Thomas Crapper!) You've come to the right place!
Toilets around the world:Belgium Bulgaria China France Greek Islands Japan Morocco Trinidad Russia and many others
Toilets from throughout history:
The Stone Age Ancient Greece Ancient Rome Bible era King Arthur's England Invention of the flush toilet To the toilets of the future
155 days until Thomas Crapper's birthday
214 days until World Toilet Day
Who Invented the Flush Toilet?
Toilets are not new, they have been around since the Stone Age, and flushing toilets are old enough that history doesn't record their invention. But then things fell apart after the Roman Empire fell apart. Flushing toilets on a modern design were finally re-invented in England a little before 1600, wrapped up in some royal court intrigue.
Sir John Harington was born in 1561 in Kelston, Somerset, in southeastern England. His mother was a gentlewoman of the Privy Chamber of Queen Elizabeth I.
The Privy Chamber was the most influential operating department within the English royal household. Control of the Privy Chamber meant control of the ruler. What had simply been the Chamber of the King had been divided under King Henry VIII (ruled 1509-1547) into the Privy Chamber, the Presence Chamber, and the Great Hall, working out from the innermost private space. The Privy Chamber included the ruler's bedroom, library, study and toilet.
As King Henry VIII grew older and fatter, the position of Groom of the Stool became ever more influential. Meanwhile, the work involved remained rather unpleasant. The Groom of the Stool, more formally titled the Groom of the King's Close Stool, was in charge of the royal excretion and was tasked with removing the excrement and cleaning the King's anal area after defecation.
This is Skylab's Waste Management Compartment. The square opening into the bulkhead at right is the Wash Basin. The white oval plastic device and the surrounding plumbing are the Waste Collection Facilities.
My page of Spacecraft Toilets includes toilet systems from the Soviet/Russian Mir (or Мир) and Soyuz (or Союз), and urine and fecal collection systems from Apollo 11, the first manned lunar landing, from the early Mercury program, and the later Space Shuttle.
Who is the Toilet Guru? Is he obsessed? What is it like to be the Toilet Guru? Why does this site exist?
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