BY KEVAN CASSON 4-13-15

History of the Toilet

Going Inside

First indoor toilets by Harappan city dwellers in the Indus Valley in 2500 B.C.

Most advances in toilets to come from Europe in the future

Royal Flush

1500 B.C.: Greek plumbers invent the first flush toilet in queen’s house

Royal house is destroyed in 1400 B.C. earthquake

Centuries until new innovation

Really Public Bathrooms

Sewer system Cloaca Maxima of Rome is built in 800 B.C

Public toilets are built above the systemUncomfortable and unsanitary

This Job is the Pits

1300 AD, Europeans began use of outhousesEnglish outhouse cleaner meets his fate at

bottom of outhouse

Heads Up

1500s: European city dwellers use indoor “chamber pots”

When full, contents are tossed out of the window.

A Charmin’ Idea

1857: Joseph Gayetty introduces toilet paperPrevious toilet paper included catalog pages

and dried corncobs

Bathroom Reading

1672: chamber pot disguised as a pile of books becomes one of the most popular models in France

Stop Making Scents

1775: Alexander Cummings patents the S-trap

The modern flush toilet is bornS-trap works to keep the bowl filled with

water

Sculptured Seats

1885: Thomas Twyford introduces the Unitas, the first one piece, all ceramic toilet

Ceramic toilets catch on quickly

Decorated and molded into shapes

Minding Your Business

1999: The Matsushita Electronic Industrial Company of Japan previews high tech bowl

New toilet measures weight and body fat and analyzes waste for information about your health

New Toilet Information

The Tremont Hotel of Boston was the first to have indoor plumbing

Scott Paper Company was the first to sell toilet paper on a roll in 1879

The first close tank toilet came in 1900