Originally, ‘toilet’ means: “act of washing, dressing, and preparing oneself”. This is derived from French.
The average person uses the toilet 2,500 times per year, that amounts to 6 to 8 times a day.
60% of the world doesn’t have access to functioning toilets. That’s about 4.5 billion people, mostly living in rural areas.
Toilets were not always private, going to the toilet used to be a social event. There were no stalls just long slabs with many holes positioned next to each other, about two feet apart.
The first modern toilet prototype was built by a poet; Sir John Harington, a godson of Queen Elizabeth I who fell out of her majesty’s favor for his risqué verses.
The World Toilet Organisation was founded on 19 November 2001 and on this day every year World Toilet Day is celebrated.
British engineer Thomas Crapper perfected the flush toilet - yes that’s where the term comes from! He also patented the ballcock, the bobbing mechanism inside a toilet tank.
Elaborate Victorian-era toilets were often gilded with gold - Victorian toilets became ornate and detailed and the more ornate the better the show of wealth.
There's a reason why toilets are usually porcelain. Mainly because it's extremely durable and you can easily clean it without worrying about corrosion or rust coming through.
Some common words used for the loo are: powder room, lavatory, outhouse, ladies, convenience, washroom, men’s room, bathroom, dunny, bog, khazi, gents, garderobe, necessary, women’s room, restroom, potty, privy, the smallest room, cloakroom, latrine, place of easement, water closet (WC), john, can, little girls’ room, little boys’ room, throne room and facilities etc.
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