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Toilets – we all use them, but we rarely discuss them. The flushing toilet was invented by Sir John Harrington in 1596 for Queen Elizabeth I. Though he was once exiled from the Royal Court for spreading indecent stories, his invention brought him back into favor. Now, let's dive into 15 more interesting toilet facts.
1 Facts 1 – 5
1. The movie 'Psycho' was the first to feature a toilet flushing – a scene that sparked a wave of complaints about indecency.
2. The first known attempt at creating a toilet air freshener involved pomegranates studded with cloves.
3. Hermann Goering refused to use conventional toilet paper, opting instead to buy bulk quantities of soft white handkerchiefs for his personal use.
4. A study that cost over $100,000 US dollars was conducted to find out whether most people place their toilet paper with the flap facing forward or backward. The result: three out of four people prefer the flap in the front.
5. On October 25th, 1760, King George II of Great Britain tragically passed away after falling off a toilet.
2 Facts 6 – 10
6. On average, a person spends a total of three years of their life sitting on the toilet.
7. The first toilet cubicle in a row tends to be the least used, and therefore, the cleanest.
8. Approximately 2.6 billion people around the world lack access to proper toilet facilities, especially in rural areas of China and India.
9. The Roman army didn’t have toilet paper; instead, they used a water-soaked sponge attached to the end of a stick.
10. The toilet is flushed more times during the Super Bowl halftime than at any other time throughout the year.
3 Facts 11 – 15
11. A staggering 90% of pharmaceuticals consumed by people are excreted through urination. As a result, our sewer systems are filled with significant amounts of drugs. A recent EPA study found fish containing traces of estrogen, cholesterol-lowering drugs, pain relievers, antibiotics, caffeine, and even antidepressants.
12. The lack of adequate toilets and sanitation facilities leads to the deaths of approximately 1.8 million people each year, with many of them being children.
13. A toilet handle in a public restroom can harbor as many as 40,000 germs per square inch.
14. While Thomas Crapper did not invent the toilet, he is credited with perfecting the siphon flush system we use today. Interestingly, he was born in Thorne, a village whose name is an anagram of 'throne.'
15. In a 1992 survey, British public toilets were rated the worst in the world, with Thailand, Greece, and France following closely behind.
