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What became the modern day toilet was invented by Sir John Harrington, who published
a pamphlet in the 16th Century called the "Metamorphosis of Ajax".
Ajax was a pun on jakes, slang even then for toilets. He presented the first flushing
toilet to his godmother, Queen Elizabeth 1, in 1594.
The invention of the modern toilet is attributed
to one man, the appropriately named Sir Thomas Crapper.
He is credited with inventing the u-bend and the flushing toilet in the 1860s, but,
according to museum officer Angela Lee, he was nothing other than a "brilliant self-publicist"
who patented but did not invent many of the original designs.
Source: BBC website
Fun Facts
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The average person spends three years of their life on the toilet
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Researchers have found that girls really do take longer to spend a penny than boys
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The average person visits the toilet 2,500 times a year - about six to eight times
a day
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The first time there were separate male and female toilets were at a posh party
in Paris in 1739
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The first toilet cubicle in a public washroom is the least likely to be used: it
is also the cleanest
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Most toilets flush in the key of E flat
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World Toilet Day takes place on 19 November each year
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The first toilet paper was developed in England in 1880 and sold not on a roll, but
as individual sheets in a box
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The average toilet is flushed eight times a day
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We use an average of 57 sheets of toilet paper a day!
Source: BBC website
What does the word "toilet" mean?
Deriving in 1828, the original meaning of toilet,
or toilette, is of French origin meaning the "act of washing, dressing, and preparing
oneself". As the years went by, the word evolved into actually being the room or
facility in which one arranges their toilet. In modern days, toilet refers to the
plumbing fixture that one might use in the "bathroom", with "bathroom" now describing
the facility one would go to for the purpose of using the toilet or lavatory.
Source: Toiletpaperworld.com
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