Why is a toilet called a john?

giggles

Before the big fire that nearly destroyed the city of seattle, a man named John Crapper invented the first flushing toilet. You can now tour the underground city of Seattle and see the first known flushing toilet, also known as the 'crapper'. Jan 20 03, 3:42 AM

Kainantu

Probably after the 'inventor' of the water closet, John Harrington. Eighteenth century was a century of toilets. Despite invention of water closet by John Harrington in 1596, which was, costing only 6 shillings and 8 pence this was not adopted on a large scale for almost 182 years. ...During this period people used earth closet. In these toilets instead of water earth was used. So the problem of cleaning remained. The world also saw development of Pan closets - which like cigarette ashtray threw the material at the bottom. This too required manual cleaning. At the same time chamber pots, close stools, open defecation remained. In comparison to this, Harrington's toilet under the name Angrez was being used in France, though not introduced on a large scale in England. In 1738 JF Brondel introduced the valve type flush toilet. Alexander Cummings further improved the technology and gave use a better device in 1775. In Cumming's design water was perennially there in the toilet so it suppressed odors. Still the working of the valve and foolproof inlet of water needed further improvements. In {1777;} Joseph Preiser provided the required improvement. Then Joseph Bramah in 1778, substituted the slide valve with crank valve, It seemed then that the technology of pour flush was now perfected. No the world was yet to witness further technological developments. In 1870, SS Helior invented the flush type toilet, called optims - an improvement over Blummer's design. http://www.plumbingworld.com/toilethistoryindia.html .BC 1000: In the Bahrein Island in the Persian Gulf, a flush type toilet was discovered.http://www.plumbingworld.com/toilethistoryindia.html China has flushed Britain's claims to have invented the water closet down the pan with the discovery of a 2,000-year-old toilet complete with running water, a stone seat and a comfortable armrest. http://www.th Jan 20 03, 4:57 AM

Kainantu

The most famous product attributed to Thomas Crapper wasn't invented by him at all. The 'Silent Valveless Water Waste Preventer' (No. 814) was a symphonic discharge system that allowed a toilet to flush effectively when the cistern was only half full. British Patent 4990 for 1898 was issued to a Mr. Albert Giblin for this product. There are a couple of theories on how Thomas Crapper came to be associated with this device. First, is that Giblin worked for Crapper as an employee and authorized his use of the product. The second, and more likely scenario, says Grabowski, is that Crapper bought the patent rights from Giblin and marketed the device himself. Myth: The word 'crap' is derived from Thomas Crapper's name. Fact. The origin of crap is still being debated. Possible sources include the Dutch {Krappe;} Low German krape meaning a vile and inedible {fish;} Middle English crappy, and Thomas Crapper. Where crap is derived from Crapper, it is by a process know as, pardon the pun, a back formation. The World War I doughboys passing through England brought together Crapper's name and the toilet. They saw the words T. Crapper-Chelsea printed on the tanks and coined the slang 'crapper' meaning toilet. http://www.theplumber.com/crapper.html Jan 20 03, 5:03 AM

zbeckabee

Hamlet. replies: http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/09/26/ 1064083166229.html http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/09/ Named after John Harrington, he made an early design of a flushing toliet. Also See Questions #107097 and #56940: http://www.funtrivia.com/askft/Question107097.html http://www.funtrivia.com/askft/Question56940.html Jul 15 09, 8:01 PM

zbeckabee

griffinj replies: That Thomas Crapper invented the toilet is on of the most enduring myths of the 20th (and now 21st, I guess) century. However, unlike Otto Titzling, he was a real person. http://www.plumbingworld.com/historythomas.html http://www.snopes.com/business/names/crapper.asp http://www.tafkac.org/faq2k/word_260.html John Harrington did design the first "necessary" in 1596, but he never made another (there is some question if any were made at all) and the idea was lost. “Crediting Harrington for inventing the toilet is the same as anointing Leonardo Da Vinci as father of the helicopter.” In 1775 Alexander Cummings reinvented Harrington's water closet. Cummings invented the S-trap, a sliding valve between the bowl and the trap. It was the first of its kind. Two years later in 1777, Samuel Prosser applied for and received a patent for a plunger closet. A year later, Joseph Bramah invented a closet that had a valve at the bottom of the bowl that worked on a hinge -- a predecessor to the modern ballcock. Bramah was a bit of a sailor and his closet was used extensively on ships and boats of the era. J.G. Jennings patented a washout closet in 1852. This unit had a shallow basin with a dished tray and water seal. The flush water drove the contents into the pan and then through the S-trap. Thomas Twyford would refine and promote this until in 1885 he built the first trapless toilet in a one-piece, all china design. The device has remained pretty much unchanged since then. p.s. The Palace of Knossos had facilities flushed by water 4000 years ago. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/696115.stm http://www.victoriancrapper.com/Toilethistory.HTML http://www.cbc.ca/kids/general/the-lab/history-of-invention/toilet.html Jul 15 09, 8:01 PM

satguru

You're a star tying up all the similar answers Zb, and guess who used to do it for fun on long winter nights? ;) Aug 23 09, 5:42 PM

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