Fun Facts About Plumbers and Plumbing
- 1. The word ‘plumbing’ originates from ‘plumbum’, Latin for lead.
- 2. And a person who worked with lead was called a plumbarius.
- 3. Standardized plumbing dates back to 3000 B.C. in ancient Greece. The first plumbers invented the first system of sewage disposal and drainage.
- 4. The Egyptians reportedly referred to the bath as the “house of horror”.
- 5. Tudor England called the bath house the “privy” or “house of privacy”.
- 6. The French sometimes refer to the bathroom as “la chamber sent”, translating to “the room smells”.
- 7. The first patent for a flushing toilet was issued to Alexander Cummings in 1775, but he was not the original inventor. The creator was Sir John Harrington back in 1596.
- 8. Why do we call the toilet “the john?” The nickname comes from Sir John Harrington, godson of Queen Elizabeth I, who invented the toilet as we know it today.
- 9. How about the term “the crapper?” That comes from Thomas Crapper, who founded the London sanitation company Thomas Crapper and Co. Crapper is often incorrectly referred to as the inventor of the toilet, but he is the inspiration for the toilet’s nickname.
- 10. Do you ever wonder why we talk about little kids going to the potty? That can be traced to the days before modern plumbing, and people used chamber pots instead.
- 11. King George II of Great Britain died falling off a toilet on October 25, 1760.
- 12. In the 1700s, before toilet paper was a thing, corncobs were used as an alternative. Some people also used moss, seashells, rocks, and animal furs. All these options seem rather uncomfortable and make us appreciate toilet paper even more.
- 13. In 1804, Philadelphia was the first city to use cast iron pipes in plumbing.
- 14. Boston’s Tremont Hotel was the first hotel to offer indoor plumbing in 1829.
- 15. Chicago was the first major American city to build a comprehensive sewer system in 1855.
- 16. The most famous plumbers in the world are Mario and Luigi.
- 17. Flushing the toilet makes up 38% of the average U.S. household’s water usage.
- 18. In 1954, Albert Einstein said if he had to live his life all over again, he would be a plumber. The Plumbers and Steamfitters Union in Washington, D.C. made him an honorary plumber as a result.
- 19. The toilet is flushed more times during halftime of the Super Bowl than at any other time of the year.
- 20. A low-flush toilet can save up to 18,000 gallons of water a year.
- 21. A leaky faucet dripping once per second can waste more than 3,000 gallons of water a year. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, water leaks of any kind inside the home lead to thousands of gallons of water being wasted annually.
- 22. On average, a person will spend three years of their life on the toilet. This number is higher for men than women.
- 23. Each U.S. resident uses an average of 82 gallons of water a day at home, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
- 24. The average family can waste 180 gallons per week, or 9,400 gallons of water annually, from household leaks. That's equivalent to the amount of water needed to wash more than 300 loads of laundry, the Environmental Protection agency says.
- 25. $100,000 was spent determining whether people have their toilet paper with the flap in front or behind. It turns out that 3 out of 4 people have it in front.
- 26. Ozzy Osbourne was a plumber’s apprentice before entering the music industry.
- 27. Rock musician Joe Cocker worked in the industry as well. Before he hit it big, he worked as a gas plumber by day while playing music gigs at night.
- 28. In 1939, Al Moen invented the single-handle faucet that can control hot and cold water in just one turn.
- 29. In 2010, the World Plumbing Council (WPC) established March 11 as World Plumbing Day to raise awareness of the importance of plumbing and the impact it has on our lives.
- 30. Toilets in the Southern Hemisphere don’t flush the opposite way – that’s a common myth. The Coriolis Effect makes air move in different directions depending on the hemisphere, but this does not affect toilets.
- 31. Decades ago, toilets were not allowed to be shown in TV sitcoms, including The Brady Bunch and I Love Lucy!
- 32. Your toilet seat is much cleaner than the sponges or dishcloths used for washing dishes. Toilets harbor about 50 bacteria per square inch, whereas dishcloths contain 456 times more bacteria than toilets.
- 33. The most expensive toilet ever made is on the International Space Station.
- 34. There are actually three toilets on the International Space Station, located in the Zvezda, Nauka and Tranquility modules.
- 35. On the ISS, solid waste is distributed in a cylindrical container, which is then exposed to vacuum to dry the waste. Liquid waste is disposed of by discharging it into space.
- 36. A $23 million next-generation space toilet called the Universal Waste Management System (UWMS) is being developed by NASA for Orion and the International Space Station. The UWMS is the first space toilet designed specifically for women as well as men.
- 37. Gold Seal Plumbing can repair any plumbing issue that may arise in your house. (Notice I didn't say on the International Space Station.)
