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Origin of the modern flushable toilet (lemmy.dbzer0.com)
submitted 6 months ago by TheLobotomist@lemmy.dbzer0.com to c/bewowed@lemmy.dbzer0.com
32 comments fedilink hide all child comments

The first modern flushable toilet was invented in 1596 by Sir John Harrington who installed one for his godmother, Elizabeth I.

Occasionally, some brave knights would conduct sneak attacks by entering the castle via the shaft connected to the garderobe. Throughout history, there have been a number of famous people who died on the toilet. Several of them were stabbed from below while in the process of defecating.

These people include King Edmund II of England (30 November 1016), Jaromír Duke of Bohemia (4 November 1035), Godfrey IV Duke of Lower Lorraine (circa. 26-27 February 1076), Wenceslaus III of Bohemia (4 August 1306) and Uesugi Kenshin (19 April 1578).

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[-] stoy@lemmy.zip 47 points 6 months ago

I am not sure I agree with people calling this kind of toilet flushable....

[-] brbposting@sh.itjust.works 17 points 6 months ago

It’s not:

In 1596 Sir John Harington…[described] a forerunner to the modern flush toilet installed at his house at Kelston in Somerset. The design had a flush valve to let water out of the tank, and a wash-down design to empty the bowl. He installed one for his godmother Queen Elizabeth I at Richmond Palace.

Pictured in the OP are garderobes. Inside view’s something like:

[-] stoy@lemmy.zip 5 points 6 months ago

Interestingly "garderob" is the Swedish word for closet

[-] EmoDuck@sh.itjust.works 2 points 6 months ago

Might be a germanic word that developed different meanings over time

[-] stoy@lemmy.zip 1 points 6 months ago

Quite possible

[-] azertyfun@sh.itjust.works 2 points 6 months ago

Nah it's French, "garde robe" means "clothes[ancient french] holder[literally guard]". So literally just wardrobe.

Interesting that it became a loan word in Swedish tho, what a mindfuck. Dunno why the English borrowed it to describe toilets... I guess it does kinda look like a closet...?

[-] EmoDuck@sh.itjust.works 4 points 6 months ago

I know it's not necessarily an unknown fact but he's an ancestors of Kid Harington, aka John Snow from Game of Thrones

[-] AnUnusualRelic@lemmy.world 4 points 6 months ago

No need to flush, all you need is a weekly peasant with a shovel. Very ecological!

[-] qyron@sopuli.xyz 35 points 6 months ago

Getting poked to death when taking a dump...

That has to be close to the top of sorryful ways to die.

Imagine the epitaph.

[-] Even_Adder@lemmy.dbzer0.com 21 points 6 months ago

The poo stains never really went away.

[-] nova_ad_vitum@lemmy.ca 10 points 6 months ago

That stone had seen things.

[-] SonnyVabitch@lemmy.world 19 points 6 months ago

This was interesting to read on the toilet.

[-] Rozz 2 points 6 months ago

I'm glad you didn't get stabbed

[-] Thcdenton@lemmy.world 18 points 6 months ago

[-] gravitas_deficiency@sh.itjust.works 17 points 6 months ago

Now this is shitposting

[-] ramble81@lemm.ee 11 points 6 months ago

Notice that section of the wall is slightly discolored from the part to the right? You’re welcome.

[-] blazeknave@lemmy.world 2 points 6 months ago

Can't see it

[-] guyrocket@kbin.social 11 points 6 months ago

If they were to design that so the waste fell into the moat then it seems like a great design.

Just don't drink out of the moat.

[-] EmoDuck@sh.itjust.works 2 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago)

In some cases they had serves who's job it was to clean the area under the pooper

Human waste can also be used in tanning leather so it might have been reused for that

[-] stewie3128@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 points 6 months ago

Fish pond toilets and pig toilets are still a thing in some parts of India

[-] ivanafterall@kbin.social 8 points 6 months ago

Do the poops bounce down Plinko style? Did the poor people stand underneath?

[-] I_am_10_squirrels@beehaw.org 1 points 6 months ago

If your poop bounces, you need to reconsider your diet.

[-] watersnipje@lemmy.blahaj.zone 3 points 6 months ago

I swallow a lot of chewing gum.

[-] ObviouslyNotBanana@lemmy.world 5 points 6 months ago

It was a pain in the winters since it was incredibly cold to use it.

[-] soviettaters@lemm.ee 3 points 6 months ago

Don't forget Ehud, the immensely fat guy from the Bible who was stabbed while taking a dumb.

[-] stewie3128@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 points 6 months ago

I frequently take a dumb.

[-] zifnab25@hexbear.net 3 points 6 months ago

Anyone else feel a draft?

this post was submitted on 06 Jan 2024
208 points (94.4% liked)

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