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
34 days until World Toilet Day
Answers for your important questions: Why do people hoard toilet paper? Did Thomas Crapper invent the flush toilet? Should I squat or sit? Should I wipe or wash? Where do I put used paper, in the bowl or in the bin? When did public toilets become segregated by sex? What is a bidet? What is a toilet snorkel? Should I incinerate my sewage in the basement? Did Thomas Crapper Invent the Flush Toilet?
Is His Name the Origin of the Word "Crap"?
No, and No
Thomas Crapper was an English plumber and industrialist, but he was not the inventor of the flush toilet. The modern flush toilet design dates back to 1596, 240 years before Thomas Crapper's birth in 1836. English patents for flush toilets were issued in the 1770s. Public toilets were installed in England in 1854, when Crapper was just 18. And as for the word "crap", it has been used in English since 1440, based on Middle English crappe which came from earlier Dutch and Old French words, which in turn came from medieval Latin.
Toilets have been around at least since 3,000 BC when the Neolithic settlers of Skara Brae on the Orkney Islands off the northern coast of Scotland built toilet chambers at the corners of their stone homes.
Those late Stone Age toilets had a drainage system to remove waste, although it is unclear whether they had a true water flushing system or not. A flushing system connected to a common sewage disposal system existed by 2,600 BC in the cities of Mohenjo-daro and Harappa in the Indus Valley Civilization. The Minoan civilization on Crete and Thera had flushing toilets by 1,800 BC.
Not all American plumbing is as odd as this, but there are some strange toilets in the United States. Many Americans think that foreign toilets are bizarre and dirty, but people from other countries think the same thing about American plumbing.
Click here to see more unusual American toilets and other plumbing.
Who is the Toilet Guru? Is he obsessed? What is it like to be the Toilet Guru? Why does this site exist?
Read more