Mark Hendriksen

Before heading into, ‘The Potted History of the Toilet‘ part 2, let’s just catch up on a few of the news posts and articles from the last week or two so we keep on top of what’s going on, and going down. Firstly, when we talk about toilets, WCs we also had to discuss water – the flush, then the sewer, then the treatment. The problem in many places is there’s no access to water, and/or clean water and that’s where companies like Urimat are innovating. Similar solutions and innovative ideas are emerging all the time, and thats what we’ll look at in more detail in next weeks, ‘The Daily Poo!’ but for now, those articles!…

1. More news on the Poo Panecea and the strange, but surprising world of faecal transplants.
2. As discussions at Davos bring up the subject of planting more trees, how about saving the ones we have, let’s start with toilet paper!! According to National Geographic worldwide we destroy over 9 million trees per year and that figure is increasing…
3. If you’ve even heard of, and then thought the ToiletRoll Bot wasn’t the most pointless gimmick (and waste of money) ever… then check out these other inventions!
4. For those who may have wondered, here’s the scoop on a floating poop!

‘A Potted History of the Toilet’ part 2. Last week, we took a super fast look at the history of the toilet and, in conclusion, can clearly see that after the initial introduction of seating and sewers thousands of years ago, relatively nothing much happened after that up until around 200 years ago. Necessity and invention created a change, and although that still doesn’t address basic sanitation issues for over 25% of the world population to this day, at least the dot on the radar is growing more rapidly than ever before. Actioning the issues it highlights is taking somewhat longer. To finalise this short history, let’s look at a couple the inventors and driving forces behind the changes in the last 200 years. For more detail see this recent article: What the Earliest Toilets Say About How Human Civilization Has Evolved.

We touched on a few highlights last week but let’s expand. The video below touches on the main influencers, their inventions and impact and date stamps the ‘progress’, then discusses the more global situation we have today. ‘The Great Stink’ in London 1858, was the catalyst to a huge shift in the understanding and reaction to the terrible diseases associated with bad sanitation and the impact on human life, about the same time the matter began to be addressed in many other countries too. Whilst we’ve looked briefly at the evolution of the toilet, of even greater importance is that of the sewer and waste management. The man credited with the first super sewer, was Sir Joseph Bazalgette in London, UK. To read his story click here. It was completed in 1875 less than 150 years ago… and now, in the ‘throw it down the loo’ society of the 21st century, further challenges are arising rather than more being resolved – so in fact when people talk of progress it’s relatively little, and needs addressing not just in ‘civilised’ societies but on a global scale.

One of the keen advocates of improving sanitation and new invention is the Bill & Melissa Gates Foundation [and the World Toilet Organisation!] here’s a short video, ‘How The Toilet Changed History‘ (from 2017) on that very subject.

On a final note, there was an ad a while back that highlighted how many ‘cleaning’ sprays may clean your bathroom etc., but leave behind a chemical residue… it was removed after some complainants. However, the message is strong – and humour often helps more than instruction. Going back to the start of this blog i.e. helping protect people and their health, the company, ‘Method‘ is a standout example of environmental awareness and ethical products – so here it is anyway, and it does make you rethink your product choices…

Next week’s blog will include how the various types of toilers/wcs work and the usual updates on loos & no. 2s in ‘The Daily Poo!‘.