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A toilet, loo, lavatory or WC is a plumbing fixture and disposal system primarily intended for the disposal of the bodily wastes: urine and fecal matter. The word "toilet" can be used to refer to the fixture itself or to the room containing the fixture, especially in British English. In North American English the word "toilet" refers solely to the fixture itself and not to the room that contains it, thus asking for the "toilet" would seem indecent. Instead, the euphemisms bathroom, restroom, washroom, men's room or women's room are preferred. The modern flush toilet system was first designed in 1596 by Sir John Harington; however, a form of flush toilet was used in the Indus Valley Civilization. The cities of Harappa and Mohenjo-daro had flush toilets attached to a sophisticated sewage system.

super do it! oh yeah!

Grey water

History

Toilets appeared as early as 2500 BC. The people of the Harappan civilization in Pakistan and north-western India had water-flushing toilets in each house that were linked with drains covered with burnt clay bricks. There were also toilets in Minoan Crete, Egypt in the time of the Pharoahs, Persia and ancient China . In Roman civilization, toilets were sometimes part of public bath houses.

Etymology

The word "toilet" came to be used in English along with other French fashions (first noted 1681) . It originally referred to the whole complex of operations of hairdressing and body care that centered at a dressing table covered to the floor with cloth (toile) and lace, on which stood a mirror, which might also be draped in lace: the ensemble was a toilette. The English poet Alexander Pope in The Rape of the Lock (1717) described the intricacies of a lady's preparation:

And now, unveil'd, the toilet stands display'd Each silver vase in mystic order laid.

Through the 18th century, everywhere in the English-speaking world, a toilet remained a lady's draped dressing-table. The word was adapted as a genteel euphemism for the room and the object as we know them now, perhaps following the French usage cabinet de toilette, much as powder-room may be coyly used today, and this has been linked to the introduction of public toilets, for example on railway trains, which required a plaque on the door. The original usage has become indelicate and obsolete, and has been replaced by dressing-table.

Vestiges of the original meaning continue to be reflected in terms such as toiletries, eau de toilette and toilet bag (to carry flannels, soaps, etc). This seemingly contradictory terminology has served as the basis for various parodies e.g. Cosmopolitan magazine ("If it doesn't say 'eau de toilette' on the label, it most likely doesn't come from the famed region of Eau de Toilette in France and might not even come from toilets at all.")

The word toilet itself may be considered an impolite word in the United States, whilst elsewhere the word is used without any embarrassment. The choice of the word used instead of toilet is highly variable, not just by regional dialect but also, at least in Britain, by class connotations. Nancy Mitford wrote an essay out of the choice of wording; see U and non-U English. Some manufacturers show this uneasiness with the word and its class attributes: American Standard, the largest manufacturer, sells them as "toilets", yet the higher priced products of the Kohler Company, often installed in more expensive housing, are sold as commodes or closets, words which also carry other meanings. Confusingly, products imported from Japan such as TOTO are referred to as "toilets", even though they carry the cachet of higher cost and quality. When referring to the room or the actual piece of equipment, the word toilet is often substituted with other euphemisms and dysphemisms (See toilet humor). As old euphemisms have become accepted, they have been progressively replaced by newer ones, an example of the euphemism treadmill at work. The choice of word used to describe the room or the piece of plumbing relies as much on regional variation (dialect) as on social situation and level of formality (Register (linguistics)).

Lavatory

The term lavatory, abbreviated in slang to lav, derives from the Latin lavātōrium, which in turn comes from Latin lavāre, to wash. It used to refer to a vessel for washing, such as a sink/wash basin, and thus came to mean a room with washing vessels. Since these rooms often also contain toilets, the meaning evolved into its current one, namely the polite and formal euphemism for a toilet and the room containing it. Lavatory is the common signage for toilets on commercial airlines around the world.

Loo

The origin of the (chiefly British) term loo is unknown. According to the OED, the etymology is obscure, but it might derive from the word Waterloo. The first recorded entry is in fact from James Joyce's Ulysses (1922): "O yes, mon loup. How much cost? Waterloo. Watercloset".

Other theories are:

That it derives from the term "gardyloo" (a corruption of the French phrase gardez l'eau loosely translated as "watch out for the water!") which was used in medieval Edinburgh when chamber pots were emptied from a window onto the street. However the first recorded usage of "loo" comes long after this term became obsolete.

That the word comes from nautical terminology, loo being an old-fashioned word for lee. The standard nautical pronunciation (in British English) of leeward is looward. Early ships were not fitted with toilets but the crew would urinate over the side of the vessel. However it was important to use the leeward side. Using the windward side would result in the urine blown back on board: hence the phrases 'pissing into the wind' and 'spitting into the wind'. Even now most yachtsmen refer to the loo rather than the heads.

That an early British toilet manufacturer produced a model of cistern named "Waterloo" (in honour of the Battle of Waterloo), and the term derives from 'going to the Waterloo', and then abbreviated to simply as 'going to the `loo'.

WC

The WC refers to the initial letters of Water Closet, used commonly in France (pronounced "le vay-say" or "le vater"). This modern usage is correct when referring to the bathroom only, as the proper French pronunciation of the letter "W" is "duble-vay," making the original pronunciation "le duble-vay-say." However, this longer form has become virtually obsolete in French speaking regions. The term is also used in the Netherlands (pronounced "vaysay") and in Germany (pronounced "veh-tsay").

In Mexico, WC is very common everywhere on public toilets, although the majority of the people there do not know the meaning of the 'mysterious' letters on the door.

Jacks

In Tudor England a privy was first referred to as a jakes in 1530. In modern Ireland the cognate term jacks is still used, and is a very common method of referring to the toilet.

House of Office

The "house of office" was a common name for a toilet in seventeenth century England, used by Samuel Pepys among others.

Khazi

Lexicographer Eric Partridge derives khazi, also spelt karzy, kharsie or carzey, from a low Cockney word carsey originating in the late 19th century and meaning a privvy. Carsey also referred to a den or brothel. It is presumably derived from the Italian casa for house, with the spelling influenced by similar sound to khaki. Khazi is now most commonly used in the city of Liverpool in the UK, away from its cockney slang roots.

Bog

The bog is a colloquial expression in British English for a toilet. Originally "bog" was used to describe an open cesspit and the word was later applied to the privy connected to it. More wide-spread is the usage bogroll, meaning toilet paper. See also tree bog, not to be confused with the swampland meaning of bog.

Dunny

The Dunny is an Australian expression for an outside toilet. The person who appeared weekly to empty the pan beneath the seat was known as the dunnyman. The word derives from the British dialect word dunnekin, meaning dung-house. It is now an informal word used for any lavatory and is most often used referring to drop or pit lavatories in the Australian bush.

Netty

The Netty is a Northern English Expression for an outside toilet.

Shithouse

The Shithouse is British and American slang for the toilet.

John

The John is an American term for the toilet.

Privy

The Privy is an old fashioned term used more in the North of England and in Scotland, a possible derivation meaning PRIVate place

Crapper

The Crapper is another term in general use, along with the word 'crap', meaning excrement. Crapper is the name of one Thomas Crapper, who is mistakenly associated with the invention of the modern flush toilet. He did have several patents related to plumbing, but the word "crap" predates him.

Vin

Vin is used by some members of the English Aristocracy and upper classes. Although the word 'vin' is rarely used in modern England, some private schools in England still use the term, such as Summer Fields School a Prep School in Oxford. In that school, it is against the rules to refer to the lavatory as 'the vin' when asking for permission to leave the room to relieve oneself.

Latrine

Latrine is a term common in the US Military, specifically for the Army and Air Force for any point of entry facility where human waste is disposed of, which a civilian might call a bathroom or toilet, regardless of how modern or primitive it is.

Culture

Toilet training

An important part of early childhood education is toilet training.

Disposal

The connection made between toilets and dirt, or distasteful items, has led to them being also used to dispose of wedding rings, letters or critical reviews with which one disagrees (cf. Goethe's example). In this case, the use is partly (and in many cultures very strongly) symbolic, as in most human cultures the places used to dispose of faeces and urine have some connotation related to dirtiness or rejection.

Graffiti

Public toilets have been associated with graffiti, often of a transgressive, gossippy, or low-brow humorous nature (cf. toilet humour). The word latrinalia --from latrine 'toilet' and -alia, signifying a worthless collection--was coined to describe this kind of graffiti. A famous example of such artwork, was featured on the album cover of the satirical Tony-award Broadway musical Urinetown, using felt tip pen scribblings.

Furtive sexual relations

Similarly, toilets have long been associated with furtive sexual relations. These include assignations ("for a good time call..." messages, note-passing between stalls) as well as the acts themselves, for which dalliances toilets provide a convenient (though not necessarily sanitary or romantic) venue.

For many years, gay men have used them for "cruising" and other (anonymous sexual contact). When used for such purposes in the United States, public toilets are often referred to as "Roman tea rooms", often just shortened to "T-rooms". In the United Kingdom, the act of picking up a sexual partner for a same-sex 'quickie' is better known as cottaging, a cottage in the general sense being a small, cosy, countryside home. The playwright Joe Orton made reference to this practice in his plays.

Particularly associated with toilets is the use of glory holes for peeping, or anonymous fellatio. Another example, equally open to heterosexual participation, would be sex in airplane toilets, which is reflected in the phrase "Mile High Club".

Toilets are also often used as a place for masturbation, usually by men.

Social bonding

Public toilets are often important arenas of male, as well as female social bonding. Boys and girls may use the facilities to talk about sporting events, politics, or gossip. Often, children will sneak into the room designated to the opposite sex as an intentional act of boundary-transgression.

In many cultures, each gender has its own distinct toilet etiquette for social situations. For example, American women out for a night on the town may invite one another to go to the toilet together as a way of excusing themselves from the men in their party (e.g. at a restaurant table), and once inside the so-called restroom, chat with abandon. In this sense the public toilet serves as the modern equivalent of the drawing room -- a private space to which to withdraw. Men tend to be more reticent and may even experience pee shyness, yet they too may feel a certain camaraderie. This is often more easily felt during outdoor, toilet-less urination, e.g. on a tree or a wall.

The "Great Equalizer"

The toilet is noted as one of the unifiers of humanity, as people of all social classes must use it. Simply put, everyone defecates, and this factor of biology is seen by some to be unifying.

In Poland, it is reflected by calling the toilet euphemistically as the place, "gdzie nawet król chodzi piechotą" (where even the king comes on foot). A similar saying was used in imperial Germany, and a similar saying is still known in Hungary "ahová a király is gyalog jár" (where to even the king goes by foot). In Greek the phrase "Εκεί όπου και ο Βασιλεύς πηγαίνει μόνος" (the place where even the King goes alone) is used. A parallel expression is sometimes used in Russian, "Я иду куда сам царь пешком ходил" (I shall go to where the Tsar walks), although it is generally considered archaic in contemporary Russian.

Toilets as refuge

Because of the privacy associated with restrooms, they are perceived by some as places of solace. For example, one might go to the restroom at work simply to escape from the pressures of coworkers, or a school restroom to escape harassment by peers, or the restroom at home to escape domestic troubles. Because of the solace of restrooms, many people also bring books to read, or more recently, portable video game systems or music players into them to play or listen to while or after defecating. Notably, Ernest Hemingway had a bookcase in the bathroom near the toilet.

One Silicon Valley computer professional had a telephone in every room of his house, including cheap phones near the toilet in every bathroom. Another engineer had in his bathroom a combination radio, telephone, and toilet-paper dispenser.

Toilet paper security

Many private and public toilets are provided with toilet roll holders, each of which can hold up to two complete rolls of toilet paper at one time. This arrangement is most effective if paper is always used from the roll with less paper on it. Then, there is an allowance of one complete roll before a completely used roll is replaced. (In effect, the inventory of toilet paper at the toilet has a minimum of one roll and a maximum of two rolls). However, if both rolls are finished at the same time, there is a risk of being without toilet paper before the next replacement.

Some facilities address this problem by installing a spring-loaded dispenser in which the current roll is the only one readily visible (thus encouraging the user to take from the current roll). This type of dispenser often has an overhang or plastic tab obscuring the next roll, which springs down into place when the current roll is used up. One effect is that the user may choose a different stall based on how much paper apparently remains. Other facilities have a single massive roll in a clear container to indicate how much paper remains so the user is not caught without paper, nor worried about it.

How Toilet Cisterns Work

Cisterns are either lever or push button operated. Cisterns operated by a push button are available in single (6ltr) or dual flush (3ltr/6ltr) depending on the range. The majority of cisterns are now internal overflow; this means in the event of a failure, the water will be contained within the unit.

How they're made

Pottery is made by a blend of clays, fillers and fluxes being fused together during the firing process. A white or coloured glaze is applied and is fused chemically and physically to the clay body during the same firing process. The finished product (vitreous china) has a very hard surface and is resistant to fading, staining, burning, scratching and acid attack. Due to the firing process and natural clays used, it is normal for the product to vary in size and shape, and +/- 5mm is normal.

How to look after them

It is recommended that pottery be cleaned with warm soapy water. A form of liquid soap may be used mixed with water to create a cleaning solution that will not stain the pottery.

Manufacturers

List of manufacturers of toilets and fixtures:

Bibliography

Temples of Convenience - And Chambers of Delight by Lucinda Lambton
Thunder, Flush and Thomas Crapper by Adam Hart-Davis
Bernard Share Slanguage - a dictionary of Irish slang (Dublin,1997) ISBN 0-7171-2683-8

References

External links

How to Repair a Toilet / Commode
History of Public Toilets
UK law against sex in a public toilet
Wells and Toilets - A short history of wells and toilets, free book in pdf format (2005)
Australian National Public Toilet Map (and trip-planner) with over 14,000 listings
The Toilet Museum
German webpage with toilets from all over the world
Dual Flush Toilets
Who Invented The Water Closet? - A short history of the toilet.
How to make simple toilet repairs - Good cross-section illustration of toilet tank parts.
ToiletZone (FR) - French website with toilet picture gallery
Tippler Toilet description
Ancient Indian code for Toilets
British Toilet Association (BTA)
Unisex Bathroom Directory (USA)
World Toilet Rated Guide(CAT)
Toilet, its history and reality.
A Guide To WC's and Toilets.

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