history of the flush toilet - a timeline

  The History of the Modern Flush Toilet - an Essay Timeline    

      The flush toilet is an important part of today's modern bathroom. It has roots in ancient Rome, the Elizabethan Era, and the Industrial Revolution. Early toilets used a constant stream of water to carry away waste, and date back 5,000 years. The ancient Romans improved this method by adding a sewer system. More improvements would be made in 1596 and 1775.

      In 1596, Sir John Harrington created the first flushable toilet. His device called for a two foot deep bowl water proofed with resin, pitch, and wax. (Resin is a yellowish-brown goo that comes from trees. Pitch is black, and comes from tar. Wax comes from bees.) This toilet was fed from an upstairs cistern and used 7.5 gallons of water! Sir Harrington installed one of his toilets in one of Queen Elizabeth's castles. The queen, who was his godmother, refused to use it. She thought it was to loud! 

      In 1775, Alexander Cumming was granted a patent, a tool used to prevent copying, for the S-shaped pipe on the side of most toilets. This pipe used water to prevent sewer gas from entering the house through the toilet. The people that had this kind of toilet were very happy about this idea, because if sewer gas builds up enough, it can make a building explode! Toilets started to be a little more common in rich houses, though most people used chamber pots, as they were less expensive and didn't make the house explode.

      During the 19th century, a plumber named Thomas Crapper manufactured one of the first widely successful lines of toilets. He invented the ballcock, which makes tank filling a lot easier. This is in toilets that we have today. Crapper's name would become synonymous with the devices he sold (although the English word "crap" is a lot older than him), thanks to American soldiers stationed overseas in WWI. Being unfamiliar with the rather new invention, the soldiers called them crappers - and brought the term home after the war.

      Toilets have a long history. There is a lot more than most people may think. Don't expect toilets to have been around for only four years and your baby sister (or brother) broke the first one ever sold. That's a total lie. Toilets come from the ancient Romans, and more kinds came from the Elizabethans, and then finally WWI. More and more kinds are being designed every day.