11 Toilets That Shaped History

Throughout history, societies have aimed for elegance—hence the development of fine clothing and salad forks. A pivotal innovation in this pursuit was the toilet, which replaced earlier alternatives like chamber pots and garderobes to maintain one’s dignity.

While all toilets have historical value in some way, only a select few have left a mark on the lives of their users or on global history. Here are 11 notable toilets that made their mark.

1. The Queen’s Throne

No, it wasn’t Thomas Crapper who invented the flush toilet, although his name might lead you to think so. The true inventor of the water-powered waste disposal system was Sir John Harington, who in 1596 designed such a contraption for his godmother, Queen Elizabeth I. According to the story, the Queen, visiting Harington after his exile for his habit of telling risqué jokes, noticed he had created a throne made of a pan with a leather valve that allowed water to flow in. Curious, the Queen asked him to create a similar one for her, which was later installed at Richmond Palace. (Meanwhile, peasants continued using chamber pots, often emptied out of windows to the streets below.)

However, Crapper is still a notable figure in the toilet industry. He invented the ballcock, a mechanism that helps prevent toilets from overflowing, and opened a toilet showroom in 1870. His promotion of indoor toilets led to his brand becoming synonymous with toilets, a term American GIs in World War I coined as crappers, which they brought back home after the war.

2. The Patented Toilet

While the Queen’s toilet was a royal curiosity, it took centuries before the toilet became a practical idea. In 1775, Scottish inventor Alexander Cumming enhanced Harington’s invention by adding an S-trap. This innovation ensured that water would stay in the pipe after flushing, blocking the escape of foul sewer gases. It was Cumming, not Crapper, who made toilets not just functional, but tolerable.

3. The Concealed Toilet

Modesty in relation to toilets has always been a challenging pursuit. The French believed they had discovered the answer around 1750 when they designed a large wooden seat. When folded, it resembled a book. When opened, it revealed a chamber pot inside. The title on the “spine”? Histoire des Pays Bas, or History of the Netherlands. Quite fitting for hidden regions.

4. The Ruined Toilet

The idea of a pay toilet may seem logical: charge a small fee when people need to relieve themselves. But California State Assemblywoman March Fong Eu viewed it as a subtle form of sexism. She argued that since men could urinate standing up for free anywhere, while women needed access to a stall, it was inherently unfair. To drive her point home, Eu grabbed a sledgehammer and smashed a porcelain toilet on the steps of the California State Capitol in 1969.

In 1974, California Governor Ronald Reagan signed a law banning pay toilets. Across the country, public disapproval of paying for a basic human need led to a decline and near-collapse of the pay toilet industry. The publicity stunt was so effective that it helped propel Eu to the role of Secretary of State, making her the first woman to hold this office in California.

5. The Upgraded Space Toilet

Astronauts have long faced the challenge of figuring out how to relieve themselves in space, from using disposable bags to toilets that pulverized waste like a grotesque blender. In 2020, NASA introduced the first space toilet on the International Space Station (ISS) designed to accommodate all astronauts. Called the Universal Waste Management System, this toilet allows both urine and solid waste collection—previous models were more suited for men. In simple terms, it lets astronauts of any gender urinate while seated.

Sadly, they still have to drink their own recycled and processed urine. Or, as NASA put it in a press release: "Today's coffee is tomorrow's coffee!"

6. The First Underwater Toilet

In 1998, the remains of the Civil War-era ship U.S.S. Monitor were unearthed, revealing an intriguing feature: a flush toilet. Designed by Swedish inventor John Erion, the Monitor was an ironclad vessel, meaning it was covered in iron plating. Deployed by the Union, the ship featured a groundbreaking waste removal system that functioned similarly to a torpedo tube. After a sailor finished his business, the waste would be sealed by one valve while another opened, flushing the waste into the water. Considered the first toilet system designed to operate below the waterline, it wasn’t without issues: If not operated correctly, a jet of seawater could shoot users off the seat.

7. The Interactive Art Toilet

Those who felt the need for both relief and art appreciation could experience Maurizio Cattelan’s America at the Guggenheim in 2016, a solid gold, fully functional toilet displayed as part of his art exhibit. The piece humorously critiqued the lavishness of the art world. Fortunately, it was placed in a museum restroom, offering those interested a private opportunity to interact with it.

8. The Toilets That Saved Lives

Plane crashes rarely end on a positive note, and even rarer is an accident softened by portable toilets. However, in 2009, an exception occurred when a Cessna 182 experienced engine failure shortly after takeoff near Tacoma, Washington. The pilot, descending from 150 feet, had the fortune of crashing into a line of portable toilet stalls in a storage yard. These toilets cushioned the crash, allowing the pilot to survive.

9. King Henry VIII’s Communal Pooping Toilet

Being King Henry VIII had its perks—every whim was met, and even his bodily movements were attended to. He had a luxurious padded chair adorned with pewter and sheepskin, placed above his chamber pot, and a “Groom of the Stool” to attend to his evacuations. However, his servants weren’t so fortunate. At his command, a massive two-level toilet was built to accommodate 28 people at once. Though it had a regal name—the Great House of Easement—it was no easy task: those cleaning the communal waste bins sometimes found it piled above their heads.

10. The Toilet That Took Elvis

Perhaps pop culture’s most iconic toilet moment occurred on August 16, 1977, when Elvis Presley was discovered by his girlfriend, Ginger Alden, lying on the floor of his second-floor bathroom at Graceland after having fallen from the seat. Presley’s death was reportedly due to a heart condition exacerbated by excessive prescription drug use. However, visitors to Graceland won’t be able to view the toilet where the King’s final moments unfolded: The bathroom and its adjoining suite are off-limits.

11. The First Toilet on Television

During the mid-20th century, broadcasting standards made it challenging for television shows to portray characters using the restroom. In fact, the Brady family in The Brady Bunch had a bathroom—but no toilet was ever shown.

In a 1957 episode of Leave It to Beaver, the Beav kept a pet alligator in the toilet tank, the only component of the toilet that producers were permitted to show. Nevertheless, it marked at least the first partially-visible toilet on television. A 1971 episode of All in the Family featured the sound of a flushing toilet, though the toilet itself remained unseen.