We want to share some of the fascinating facts we know about plumbing, both historical and modern. Plumbing dates back earlier than you probably realize, and modern plumbing has come a long, long way since then!
The World's Oldest Plumbing
You may have learned about the introduction of more complex plumbing systems used in Ancient Greece and the Roman Empire. The Cloaca Maxima was the impressively engineered sewer system built in the sixth century BC in Ancient Rome that is still in use today, with some of the original masonry still intact. Combined with the aqueducts for water supply, the Ancient Romans had quite the innovative system. However, ancient plumbing originates much earlier in history!
Wells for water supply are still being dug today with modern pumps and pressure tanks, but the oldest known permanent wells were dug all the way back in the Neolithic Era around 6500 BC. Now they certainly didn’t have pumps to retrieve the water, but they would send down a vessel to collect the well water and draw it back up.
The Mesopotamians designed and created the first clay sewer pipes all the way back in 4000 BC, which were used to move wastewater away.
The Egyptians used the first known copper pipes in the Pyramid of Sahura dating back to 2400 BC.
The Origin of the Word Plumber
Originating back to the Roman Empire, the word plumbum is the Latin word for lead. If you search on the Periodic Table of the Elements you will find the symbol for lead is Pb, also short for plumbum. Lead and bronze was primarily used in the Ancient Roman aqueducts to carry water by gravity to the people throughout the city. Experts in working with lead were thus called Plumbarius, which evolved over time into the word plumber that we use today.
As a side note, while lead is malleable and easy to work with, it most certainly can cause lead poisoning. So were the Ancient Romans poisoned by their water supply? Lead poisoning in Ancient Rome is still being debated by scholars. The Romans were actually well aware of the dangers of lead. Due to high levels of calcium in their water, a layer of calcium deposits covered the lead in their pipes preventing the much of the lead from getting into their water.
The Inventors of the Toilet
The first flushable modern toilet was invented by Sir John Harington, the godson of Queen Elizabeth I. That toilet was actually installed at Richmond Palace for the Queen, but certainly did not catch on and people still preferred the use of chamber pots. However, this is where toilets got the nickname “John”!
In 1775 Alexander Cummings was granted the first patent for a flush toilet, and he introduced the S-shaped pipe below that bowl that creates a trap that prevents sewer gasses from coming back up through the toilet. We all appreciate that innovation!
In 1880 Thomas Crapper improved on the S-shaped trap and used a U-shaped pipe instead. He also developed the floating ballcock (or float valve) still used in toilets today. He manufactured a widely used line of flush toilets in London through his company Thomas Crapper and Co. And this is where toilets also got the nickname “crapper”.
The Most Expensive Toilet
Rather than calling it the most expensive toilet on earth, it is actually the most expensive toilet created by man. That’s because it actually is installed on the International Space Station (ISS)! On October 5, 2020 a new toilet arrived on the ISS and was installed shortly after it arrived. It cost $23 million to develop this toilet which is eventually intended for use on deep space missions. As everything in space floats, it depends on suction to collect waste and is also designed to be relatively compact as room is limited.
So what do they do with the solid waste collected from astronauts? Every ten days or so all of the waste collected is combined with trash and sent out of the ISS towards Earth where it burns up in the atmosphere. Consider that next time you see a shooting star!
