Average Hobbies Trivia: (Almost) Everything You Want to Know About Toilets | 10 Questions

Answer: E flat

This is an odd one, but it has been found that most American toilets flush in the key of E flat. This is the same key as Beethoven's Symphony No. 3, "Eroica". Beethoven originally meant this symphony as a tribute to Napoleon, since the title of the work means "heroic". I'm not sure if there is a connection between the symphony and the flush, but perhaps it's a salute to Napoleon, or a "royal flush" (sorry, but I just couldn't help the pun).

Answer: 1890

Toilet paper dates back to Ancient China when the elite used sheets of paper when doing their business on the toilet. The first commercially available toilet paper was invented by Joseph Gayetty in 1857. His sheets were packaged and sold in stores, but did not come in rolls. That happened in 1890 when the Scott paper company began selling toilet paper on rolls for convenience in North American restrooms.

Answer: Alligator

The brothers Wally and Beaver bought a pet alligator on a 1957 episode of "Leave it to Beaver". It was a time when toilets weren't shown on television, so the network executives were very worried about this scene. At first, they would not allow the filming in the bathroom.

However, the producers argued that it was essential to the show. They compromised by only showing the tank and not the seat, and pretending that the characters never used the bathroom for its regular purposes.

Answer: The flush action blows germs up in the air

Scientists who study aerosols have shown that when the water is agitated by flushing, small droplets are forced into the air. Studies have shown that the germ-filled droplets can travel up to six feet away when a toilet is flushed. If the lid is closed, the germs are trapped inside.

Answer: True

Most toilet cleaners are made of a variety of chemicals that do a great job getting rid of the germs in the toilet. On the other hand, these chemicals are usually made of acids or bleaches that can be very toxic if swallowed, or damaging to exposed skin or eyes. You should wear gloves while using, keep these cleaners away from young children, and be very careful not to splash them into your eyes.

Answer: Massachusetts

Massachusetts enacted a law in 1877 that required workplaces that hired women to have separate toilet areas for them. During Victorian times, privacy and modesty were very important, but up until this law was created, women were forced to use the same toilets as men. The first public toilets for women also often included dressing rooms and resting rooms for breaks.

Answer: A social activity

Roman toilets have been uncovered at many archeological sites. They typically consist of at least one row of seats that was placed over a sewer or a pit. There were no cubicles between the seats, so the men were free to visit and catch up with one another as they did their business. Evidence has been found that rather than using toilet paper, these men used a communal sponge on the end of a stick to wipe their behinds that was rinsed in a bucket or a small channel of running water after use.

Answer: False

Sir John Harington of Somerset, England was the godson of Queen Elizabeth I. He invented the first flush toilet in the 16th century. It consisted of a cistern for water that was elevated over a seat box. There was a large, straight pipe beneath the seat box.

A pin was pulled that emptied water from the cistern that went through the seat box, and carried waste down the pipe to a cess pit below. Thomas Crapper was an actual person who was the first to sell toilets in an actual storefront in Chelsea, England in 1866. During these Victorian times, it was not proper to talk about toilets, let alone place them on display for all to see. With his risqué behaviour, it's no wonder that his name has come to be associated with the toilet.

Answer: A garderobe

Garderobes were built into the walls of castles during the Medieval period. They were essentially small, closet-sized spaces that stuck out into the area outside the castle wall. They overhung the castle moat or a cesspit below. A wooden board with a hole for a seat was placed across the stone works inside the garderobe.

The user did their business and gravity worked to take the waste away from inside the castle. Servants were given the job of maintaining cess pits if the waste did not fall into the moats that surrounded the castles.

Answer: At least 100 feet (30.5 metres)

An outhouse is a toilet that is built outside, typically for use in areas where there is no indoor plumbing. They are essentially a pit over which a small, closet-sized building is built. A bench with a hole and a toilet seat are placed inside. They need to be placed at least 100 (30.5 metres) feet away from water sources in order to ensure that the waste in the pit does not pollute the water in any creeks, streams, lakes, or ponds that surround them.

Although not that common anymore, some can be found in campgrounds and on older, mostly abandoned properties in North America.

As a side bit of trivia, some of the first builders of outhouses in North America would plant lilac, mock orange, or other strongly scented bushes beside the outhouses to help control the smell of the waste within.