Answer: Creates a seal that prevents sewer gas from passing back into the household
The modern flush toilet is both an engineering masterpiece and simplicity in design. Body waste is deposited into a non-porous bowl, essentially gravity-fed water flushes the waste into a sewerage line which takes it to a plant for treatment into harmless constituents. The water in the bowl, held in place by its initial inability to move over the 'hump' in the "S-bend", prevents smells and odour, potentially toxic, from impinging into the household.
From Quiz: A Potted History of the Toilet et al
Answer: November 19
The World Toilet Organization founded WTD in 2001 to bring awareness to those around the globe who live without proper sanitary conditions. The lack of sanitation leads to serious infections and diseases. Donations are eagerly accepted by the World Toilet Organization. You may want to circle WTD on your calender or risk being considered a party pooper.
From Quiz: All About Toilets
Answer: Chinese
Throughout the history of man, personal hygiene was taken care of with whatever happened to be on hand, but in 589 AD there was a written reference to the use of paper for personal use. On a paper written by a scholar identified as Yan Zhitui, there is a notation saying not to use that piece for "toilet purposes." A couple hundred years after that reference, in 850 AD, a traveler comments on the use of paper by the Chinese: "they are not careful about cleanliness, and they do not wash themselves with water when they have done their necessities, but they only wipe themselves with paper."
From Quiz: Toilet Paper: Life's Little Necessities
Answer: They were made in South Molton Lane
Located in London's Mayfair, John Bolding and sons began in South Molton Lane, then taking over the adjoining premises in Davies Street, which is now (in 2007) an antique market. After taking over Thomas Crapper in 1966 they themselves went broke in 1969, although the name was revived in 1998 and the new company are based in Stratford Upon Avon.
South Molton is a village in Devon which gave its name to the London street.
From Quiz: British Toilet Manufacturers Old and New
Answer: Ephraim Louis sanitation
One of the earliest examples, Elsans came into being in 1920 and are now the scourge of pop concerts and camping sites.
From Quiz: Toilet Trivia
Answer: Thomas Crapper
Thomas held three patents for water closets, so although there has been some debate about whether he was a made-up figure (possibly because of the surname) there is no doubt that he made significant improvements to the device which originally dates back all the way to the 16th century.
From Quiz: The Littlest Room
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).
From Quiz: (Almost) Everything You Want to Know About Toilets
Answer: United States
When toilet paper made its debut to the public in 1857 it was not sold in rolls, that came later. The toilet paper was sold as flat sheets of paper that were packaged and sold. For fifty cents (US) you got 500 sheets of paper. Now toilet paper is a "modern convenience", that frankly, no one really wants to do without.
From Quiz: Toilet Paper: Life's Little Necessities
Answer: Shires
A very popular household suite for decades, the Shires Lynx was a standard no frills, but well made, model familiar to a few generations and still made. Shires are now a huge company, Qualceram Shires plc based in Ireland, and have taken over some great British names including Selecta and Trent.
From Quiz: British Toilet Manufacturers Old and New
Answer: Italian
Directly borrowed from the Italian 'casa', simply meaning house, (also Spanish, but the dictionary says Italian in this example), as in many languages you pay a visit to the 'little house'.
From Quiz: Toilet Trivia
Answer: the Romans
The Romans, like many of the ancient civilizations, used communal latrines, and would use a cloth-ended stick to clean themselves, and the phrase 'Getting the wrong end of the stick' came from this practice. I will leave it to your imagination to figure it out!
From Quiz: The Littlest Room
Answer: when meeting or eating with others, you were to only use your right hand
It was socially unacceptable to use your right hand to use toilet paper, as you shook hands with others with your right hand. You can easily see this phenomenon today as people primarily offer their right hand while meeting someone.
From Quiz: A Two-Ply History
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.
From Quiz: (Almost) Everything You Want to Know About Toilets
Answer: A non-flush toilet built at or above water level
A flying toilet is simply a plastic bag which, when filled with excrement, is discarded. So called because when filled, you threw away the bag as far as you could.
A pig toilet is where the toilet is connected to a pig-sty and the animals eat the excrement. This is still used in parts of Asia. A similar mechanism is the fish pond toilet which acts in a similar mechanism with pond fish such as carp eating the excrement.
The floating toilet is built above the water line to avoid contamination. Waste is collected into a tank and the contents are buried when the tank is full. Still used in Cambodia and in rural Asia which are subject to flooding. In New Zealand it means the outlet pipe is on the wall not the floor.
From Quiz: A Potted History of the Toilet et al
Answer: John Quincy Adams
At first only the wealthy could afford toilets in their homes. The expense came with the piping that took the wastewater away from the homes. In 1804 Philadelphia was the first city to create a waterworks plan on a large scale. The water came from the Schuylkill River. Public sewer systems eventually made it cheaper for everyone to install a toilet.
From Quiz: All About Toilets
Answer: Disposable menstrual pads
The first disposable pad was marketed by a company called Curads and Hartmann's. This product first made its appearance in Germany but because of its high cost it didn't become popular. Sanitary napkins were not introduced to the American public until the early 1920s. They were not sold in the United States before that because of the Comstock Laws.
From Quiz: Toilet Paper: Life's Little Necessities
Answer: Adamsez
Most men will be very familiar with the logo although women may have had to guess this one. Many school buildings were equipped with Adamsez urinals in the 50s and 60s, with the familiar logo. The 'Bean' model was one of the most well known. It took me a long time to find the meaning of the name, and was told by an employee that the company is owned by the Adams family, and its name was supposed to be a phonetic representation of "Adams's". Although originally from Scotswood in Newcastle on Tyne, they are now based in Northern Ireland and still going strong.
From Quiz: British Toilet Manufacturers Old and New
Answer: Delsey
Originally made by Kimberly Clark, who also make Kleenex, the product was dropped around the 1970s, and mysteriously morphed (probably by total coincidence) into an upmarket label of French luggage. You could say from the ridiculous to the sublime, relatively speaking. There are rumours the toilet roll brand may still survive somewhere on the planet but cannot be confirmed.
From Quiz: Toilet Trivia
Answer: Babylonia
The palace of Sargon the Great (721-705BC) had an elaborate arrangement of six toilets - like the Romans they enjoyed company while on the throne. Those toilets were at chair height as in modern times, and connections to drains which discharged into a main sewer have been found.
From Quiz: The Littlest Room
Answer: it helped lower consumer embarrassment
A Scott brand roll of toilet paper first sold at 1,000 sheets for ten cents a roll.
From Quiz: A Two-Ply History
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.
From Quiz: (Almost) Everything You Want to Know About Toilets
Answer: Garderobes
Garderobes were medieval toilets. The toilets were connected to pipes that emptied into a pit. Sometimes the toilets emptied into moats or rivers. City folks used chamber pots which were ceramic or metal and often made with handles for portability.
From Quiz: All About Toilets
Answer: It is a type of geometric pattern
Diaper originally meant a type of geometric pattern on fabric, and diaper patterned cotton was the main fabric for the washable napkin used from the late 19th century onwards. Although Thomas Crapper did in fact design toilets by coincidence (the word came long before the person) Hiram Diaper did not exist in such a capacity.
From Quiz: The Life and Times of the Diaper
Answer: Hanley
One of our first toilets at home was a Twyford, and I was very disappointed the first time I went to Twyford in Berkshire there were none to be seen, as they were made in the potteries in Hanley, part of Stoke on Trent, by Thomas Twyford. They originally made tableware but collaborated with Crapper to make toilets.
From Quiz: British Toilet Manufacturers Old and New
Answer: The same origin as 'crop'
Although Thomas Crapper made highly effective flush toilets in Victorian Britain, the name was hundreds of years earlier than him, meaning basically the same as crop, objects found which you collect. Of course in many cases crap is a very valuable asset so would be collected as any other crop with many uses. Mr Crapper just happened to have a very 'convenient' name for the 'job'.
From Quiz: Toilet Trivia
Answer: a necessary
Poor John was ridiculed for his invention by his peers - who termed it an 'absurd device', but both toilets were used by their owners. It would be another two hundred years before another was made!
From Quiz: The Littlest Room
Answer: corn cobs
Later on, printed paper became increasingly popular as a much more comfortable replacement.
From Quiz: A Two-Ply History
Answer: Chinese
A document attributed to a Chinese scholar in 589 AD quotes 'Paper on which there are quotations or commentaries from the Five Classics or the names of sages, I dare not use for toilet purposes'. In the Ming Dynasty, toilet paper was mass-produced, and high officials of the realm even had their ablutory accessories perfumed.
There are a couple of very important questions related to modern toilet paper:
1) Are you a 'folder' or a 'scruncher'?
2) Does the paper hang over or under the roll dispenser?
I am sure that numerous government grants have been given to get to the bottom of these two stumpers!
From Quiz: A Potted History of the Toilet et al
Answer: John Harington
Harington's flushing toilet is similar to the ones used today. It took 300 years for the concept to catch on. In 1861 an English plumber by the name of Thomas Crapper improved on Harrington's designs and sold his toilets from his shop.
From Quiz: All About Toilets
Answer: Super absorbent polymer
Super absorbent polymer (SAP) was originally used in the late 1970s in covers to protect beds from incontinent patients. The Japanese developed the idea to use it in diapers in 1982, and it is used in many other sanitary products, although it was withdrawn from tampons as the stored material could cause toxic shock syndrome. Tissue paper and cellulose were used in the first disposable diapers, but the capacity was vastly increased with the use of SAP. Silica gel is used in small packets to absorb moisture from the air in many manufactured items but not suitable for diapers.
From Quiz: The Life and Times of the Diaper
Answer: Each sheet measured 2 feet by 3 feet.
The Hongwu emperor was the first to rule during the Ming dynasty. He ruled China from 1368 to 1398. The royal family was recorded to have used 720,000 sheets of toilet paper a year. The Hongwu emperor only got to enjoy the use of the toilet paper for seven years, as he died in 1398.
From Quiz: Toilet Paper: Life's Little Necessities
Answer: Cellulose McArd
The McArd family made early cellulose toilet seats so decided to name the company something that would immortalise their product, combining the cellulose with some of their own name. They were based in Yorkshire and began making toilet seats in the 1880s, and now part of Polypipe.
From Quiz: British Toilet Manufacturers Old and New
Answer: Narrow pipes
Usually for extra toilets added in small areas such as lofts, where there isn't room for a standard gauge waste pipe, a macerator grinds up the products before being fed to a narrow outlet. If you ever use a toilet and hear a whirring sound after the flush you'll now know why.
From Quiz: Toilet Trivia
Answer: 1902, when the west wing was built
Because the White House belongs to the United States rather than a private person, its condition was deteriorating steadily as the years went on, because Congress was reluctant to spend money on the fabric. It was not until the renovation in 1948 that its position was secure, as it was in danger of being razed and there was talk of a new 'Executive Mansion' being built on the site.
From Quiz: The Littlest Room
Answer: a late night host joked about a "shortage" and a rampage ensued
Johnny Carson made a joke about a toilet paper shortage and viewers panicked by buying out toilet paper stocks. This is considered the only major shortage of a product created by consumers.
From Quiz: A Two-Ply History
Answer: He removed the handle off the well which contained fecally contaminated water
Because of poor sanitation, in particular lack of sewage facilities, John Snow deduced that one area's water supply was contaminated with fecal matter and hence infectious agents such as the Cholera bacillus. By removing the handle from the well, this forced residents to use another well which thankfully did not have a contaminated water supply. The outbreak spread no further. Dr Snow's work was a turning point in public health and indeed the need for increased sanitation afforded by flush toilets.
From Quiz: A Potted History of the Toilet et al
Answer: Joseph Gayetty
Since his toilet paper contained aloe, Gayetty marketed it as a remedy for hemorrhoids. The paper was sold in packages of 500 sheets. It was not successful. Other inventors tried to improve on what Gayetty invented. It wasn't until the Scott brothers, Edward and Clarence, marketed their toilet paper in small rolls covered in plain brown wrappers that toilet paper sales took off.
From Quiz: All About Toilets
Answer: 1940s
The first attempts at disposable diapers came from tissue or similar pads inserted into cotton diapers, and the first known one to be manufactured was a cellulose insert in rubber pants by Paulistrom in Sweden in 1942. In the USA in 1946, Marion Donovan put a shower curtain across a diaper as an experiment to isolate the waste material, allowing the whole thing to be safely thrown away. She created four patents altogether, including the poppers which first replaced the pins, which then became sticky tapes and velcro later on. They say where there's muck, there's money, and it must have made her a pile...
From Quiz: The Life and Times of the Diaper
Answer: Johnny Carson
On December 19, 1973, Johnny Carson told what he thought was a joke. The public however believed him when he said, "There's an acute shortage of toilet paper in the United States." There was not a shortage before he made this statement, but once the consumers hit the stores after hearing his statement, they created a shortage. It took some stores up to three weeks to re-stock their shelves.
From Quiz: Toilet Paper: Life's Little Necessities
Answer: because people threw out the contents of chamberpots from upper windows
The angle at which the content of the chamber pots would have been thrown would put the person further from the building at risk from a very unpleasant deluge. It was therefore up to the man to be prepared to dodge the flush of the householder's toilet.
From Quiz: The Littlest Room
