Who Invented The Toilet

The modern toilet was invented by an English plumber and inventor named Thomas Crapper in the early 1860s, although flushing toilets had been in use in many ancient societies, including the Minoans.

While there is some debate as to who actually invented the water-flushing toilet, it is almost certain that Crapper played a large role in its development. His improvements to the design and production of toilets are widely credited as major advances which made them into the widely used and widely accepted convenience that they are today.

Crapper’s first invention was the ballcock, which was essentially a float valve allowing for a consistent water supply into the toilet. After patented several other advances, he went on to develop and patent the “U-bend” in 1880, which is still used today. U-bend essentially allowed for a single flush that created a siphon effect to evacuate the water from the bowl. This design was quickly adopted by other companies, and other improvements by Crapper, such as an improved “S-bend,” helped make modern toilets a common household item.

The most believable story behind why the word “crap” is used as a synonym for feces is that Crapper’s company logo was a sure footed mythological creature called a crouching lion, the “crapper”. This may have led to the unconscious association of the two words.

Whether one believes that Crapper invented the toilet or not, the fact is that he was a major player in its advancement. Thanks to his genius, the modern toilet is now a part of daily life, and Thomas Crapper has gone down in history as one of the greatest inventors of all time.