WHY INVENT A TOILET?

By John Stipek

This article is about the invention of the flush toilet, starting with the situation that gave rise for the need of such a device, then going on to discuss the inventor(s) and stories about his invention, and lastly focusing on the toilet’s bathroom buddy – toilet paper.

    Ever light a match after your sibling leaves the bathroom so that you can use it because you can’t stand the smell?  Now imagine that stepping outside your house carries the same odor ten times stronger.  This was everyday life in any city in the world. However, human wastes on the street corner provide more than just a bad whiff of air and an unsightly view.  Disease-causing germs are often found in these wastes and if they enter the water or food supply people get sick or die.  Things cannot go on like this for much longer – something had to be done.

     (“In a world without flush toilets, where could John use the john?”)

I.  Honestly, the streets were a sewage-ridden mess before Dr. John Snow in 1838 discovered an outbreak of cholera in London.

A.     Human wastes and animal wastes often carry disease-causing germs.

1. Without proper care, the wastes & germs soon find their way into the water & food of the very people who created the problem in the first place.

B.     Cholera, also known as ‘vibreo cholerae,’ claimed the lives of millions between 1700 and 1900, according to biologist Dr. Charles Rosenberg.

    1.  Cholera was the 1838 mega-AIDS for its day and nobody knew what caused it, where it came from, or how it chose its victims.

C.     During a major cholera epidemic in 1840, Dr. Snow stepped up with some ideas for catching the culprit.

1.      Snow’s own writings tell of his suggestions that something small and alive was carrying the disease.

a) Scientists scoffed at his idea of “invisible bugs.”

2.      Dr. Snow decided to draw a map of the city of London and mark dots where deaths occurred to discover the source of the deaths.

a) In his hometown of Soho, he saw the deaths mounting around a public water well on Broad Street.

3.      John Snow broke the handle off the sewage-contaminated Broad Street Pump and a crucial lesson about sanitation was forcefully learned.

    
       (“Obviously, something had to be done to keep the sewage out of the public water supply.”)

II.  What shall we call this miraculous invention that puts an end to the cholera disease – the ‘john’ or the ‘crapper’?

A.     Thomas Crapper, a London resident of the late 1500’s was involved in the plumbing business and some believe he invented the modern flush toilet.

1. Steve Parker describes how Mr. Crapper’s invention had a valve that when pulled would release water from a water closet – very closely resembling 

    what is seen in most modern-day bathrooms.

B.     Sir John Harington, a British nobleman and godson of Queen Elizabeth I, also laid claim to the invention of the flush toilet around 1596, and according to Bill Yenne it was John, not Mr. Crapper who invented it.

1. Sir John recommended flushing the toilet once or twice a day, although our modern technology proves this to be insufficient sanitarily speaking.

            C.  Rumor has it that, in Robin Hood's day, King Arthur - angry with how his brother ruled the country while the King was gone, named the toilet 'the 

john.'

D.     The posture used while sitting on the toilet along with the natural breathing from your diaphragm are ideal for singing – as many singing teachers preach.

     
      (“Okay, these new flushing toilets are the wave of the future; how about finishing the cleanup job - these streets are now littered with stinky wads of paper!”)

III.  Toilet paper is an essential part of a bathroom break, despite those who disagree with me on this point, hopefully none of whom are reading this.

A.     What was used before toilet paper became popular around 1900?

1. Mussel shells were used for wiping in coastal regions; wool or lace was used for royalty, and colonial America used corncobs and the Sears catalog.

B.     Different areas of the world are comfortable with different textures.

1. I have a sample I picked up from a Parisian hotel – with the texture of a sheet of loose-leaf paper.

      2. Americans prefer it be white & squeezable; it is bleached & tree-made.

C.     Today, many Arabs consider the Western practice of using paper to be disgusting - they feel that you always leave a residue by following this practice.

1. They use their left hand; of course they cleanse it after their dirty deed.

     a) Ever wondered why we shake with the right hand?

     In conclusion, if you ever sat there and thought, “Why am I sitting here on this cold seat?” you now have your answers, with no small thanks to Dr. Snow for taking out the bugs before they took us out. Those days of death caused by cholera are behind us now. Whoever we are to thank – be it Mr. Crapper, or John Harrington, and Dr. Snow - the world can go on with new discoveries for new diseases, new solutions to new problems.  In the end, there is only one champion – the toilet.

WORKS CONSULTED

 Yenne, Bill. “100 Inventions that Shaped World History.” Bluewood Books, 1993.

 Parker, Steve.  “How Things Work.” Random House, Inc. New York, 1991.

Rosenberg, Charles E. “The Cholera Years.” Chicago: The University of Chicago Press. 1962.

 Snow, John.  “Snow on Cholera.” New York: The Commonwealth Fund; London: Oxford University Press. 1936.