In this video we run down the history of the Toilet and poop. Time for the real Game of Thrones... where we walk you through an invention you have probably used more than your iPhone, unless you also use your iPhone on it. How did people poop in ancient rome and medieval England, and where did it all go? The answers will disturb you.
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ABOUT US:
Join brothers Brandon and Nevin on their crazy trip through time as they dive into some of the weirdest (but true!) and most interesting bits of world history. Laughing Historically is a fun educational web show that’s teacher/classroom friendly and great for kids of all ages!
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Terms:
Ancient Rome - a civilization that began on the Italian peninsula in 8th century BC, lasting until 476 AD. It expanded to be one of the largest empires in history.
Medieval Ages - In European history lasted from the 5th to the 15th century beginning with the collapse of the Western Roman Empire and merged with the Renaissance.
Toilet - a sanitation fixture used for the disposal of human urine and feces.
Chamber Pots - a bowl shaped container, often with a lid, kept in the bedroom and used as a toilet at night.
River Thames - a river that flows through southern England, including London.
Elizabeth I of England - 1533-1603 - was Queen of England from 1558 until her death. Sometimes called The Virgin Queen or Good Queen Bess, was the final monarch of the Tudor dynasty. Daughter of Henry VIII and his second wife, Anne Boleyn, her reign is known as The Elizabethan Era.
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SCRIPT:
It is a truth universally acknowledged, that everybody
In history
pooped.
In ancient times, the Romans built public underground sewer systems, which not only carried waste, but also drinking water,
so It paid to be up stream.
The romans used large, divider-free public restrooms - some with up to 50 toilets. Many people read prayers and protection spells to keep them safe from demons, rats biting their bums, or open flames that could flare up from methane pockets.
In the middle ages, where you pooped largely depended on your class. Lower class people pooped in chamber pots - aka jerry, guzunder, a po, thunder pot… If you were really poor, a bucket.
In medieval London it was illegal to empty these out the window (not that that stopped many people). Most people carried their full chamber pots to a nearby stream or river and emptied it there.
Larger houses had attached latrines which drained into cess-pits which were emptied by men called “gongfermours” or “gong farmers.” who would then carry the waste to the streams and rivers. The Gong Farmers of London would end their shift bathing in the River Thames, which was probably only slightly cleaner than themselves - at least they were well-paid.
For the top of the Pooping-ladder, Castles featured rooms called Garderobes, which had literally a seat with a hole to the outside cut into it. Poop would drop right into the castle moat. When the tide was low, it would pile up above the water until it was flushed away into the river.
Which was also drinking water.
The word garderobe is french for Wardrobe. People would hang their clothes in these rooms, as the fleas and moths didn’t like the smell.
There was a job called “The Groom of the King’s Stool,” whose job was to wipe the king’s bum when he was finished pooping. Naturally, this was a job of honor and only princes or boys of royalty were allowed to do it.
With all this poop being throw around, you can imagine the smell literally everywhere. If you can’t, think about this, Archaeologists have found medieval poop and it still stinks to this day. This past year they even found several 700 year old barrels unearthed in Denmark in the Werner’s Square. Boy, do we stink Brandon.
Finally, in 1596, a man named John Harrington, who was actually an English poet, invented a flushing toilet for Queen Elizabeth the first. But it was so loud it scared her from using it. It did, however, become popular to call this new invention after it’s creator, John.
By the 1850s over 400,000 tonnes of sewage were flushed into the River Thames each day - around 150 million tonnes of poo a year.
Eventually, in the 1880’s, a man came along who invented the ballcock and many other patents, which helped silence the scary flushing toilet, leading to its widespread adoption… his name?
Thomas Crapper.
FUN FACT:
The US Navy has developed a way to vaporize on their vessels. The technology has been installed on their newest aircraft carrier the Gerald Ford Aircarft Carrier because he was a real stinky President.
