Interesting Indoor Plumbing History Tidbits

Before the invention of indoor plumbing, staying clean was a lot of hard work, so many people just opted to go unwashed for days on end. The result was a less than hygienic society that was often vulnerable to disease.

The concept of running water through pipes was conceived in the ancient world and ultimately introduced conveniences to mankind that are still in use today.

• In 3500 B.C., Egyptians invented copper pipes and used them to bring water from the Nile into their homes and also to their burial pyramids
• The invention of a flushing toilet in 1500 B.C. by the people on the Island of Crete was sophisticated enough to boast a wooden seat, and as this civilization thrived during the beginning of the Iron Age, they also invented the cast-iron bathtub
• In 710 B.C., the King of Assyria, Sargon the Great, invented a rudimentary shower by having his slaves stand on a ladder and form a human chain so that warm water could be poured on his head

How the Romans Once Ruled the World with Plumbing

By 2500 B.C., the Romans, who had invaded Egypt several times, had picked up a few engineering tricks and stunned the ancient world with their feats of plumbing including:

• The installation of over 220 miles of gulleys, channels, pipes, and aqueducts to help transport fresh, clean water into the city using the power of gravity
• The invention of several types of pipes for water transportation including ones made of copper, bronze, and lead
• The creation of the first luxury bathrooms with marble counters and toilets
• The invention of public baths, where people socialized as they relaxed in pools with spilling fountains
• In 410 B.C., The Sack of Rome led to a dark age in the history of indoor plumbing, as that plumbing and engineering knowledge was not assumed by the conquering Visigoths and taken back home to Europe.

The Evolution of Plumbing from Chamber Pots and Slop Pails to Toilets

For the next thousand years, people all over Europe and the Mediterranean went back to hauling water and waste in pails and using chamber pots at night. This often resulted in a horrible stench as human waste was simply thrown from slop pails into the street, sometimes from second-story windows.

Many interesting historical tidbits describe how civilization went from a barbaric state with no indoor plumbing to enjoying today’s modern conveniences.

• The first flushing toilet was invented for Queen Elizabeth 1st by her godson, Sir John Harrington in 1596 A.D., but her quarters had no pipes or outlets to dispense with the sewage
• In 1644 A.D., King Louis XIV constructed a cast iron pipes to bring water to his famous French gardens and to fill his fabulous fountains, but he neglected to improve the plumbing, leaving Marie Antoinette, who was Queen a century later to invent a perfume that covered up the smell of the court
• In 1775, Alexander Cummings invented the first flush toilet, but the unit only partially trapped the water as it flushed
• Toilet design was later improved by Thomas Crapper who in 1891, patented the valve-and-siphon system that is still in use today, with the only difference being that the tank was situated above the toilet bowl instead of behind the seat
• The sensor-flushing toilet is over thirty years, having first been invented in Japan in 1986 and they are now popular fixtures in homes and public restrooms, including ones in Green Bay, WI.