Thomas Crapper: Celebrate the Man!

Before talking about Sir Thomas Crapper, I have to show you this cool toilet/fountain designed by artist Reece Terris. You have to walk around this crazy water feature to use the toilet (not much privacy there!), and then back again to wash your hands and exit.

It's awesome.

Now, back to Crapper! He was a British inventor who died on January 27, 1910. And he DIDN’T invent the toilet! Oh, and the word “crap” was around before Crapper was born, so we didn’t name crap after Crapper, either. Hey, while I was reading about him, I learned that in the Middle Ages, bathrooms were called “garderobes” because you would hang your clothes in there. And since the stink kept moths away, your “robes” were “guarded”!

Anyway, you can see Crapper’s achievement if you look under your toilet. Down there, you’ll see that the drainage pipe bends away in an S-shaped curve. There is always some water in the bottom of the curve, and that’s what stops sewer gas smells from backing up the pipe and stinking up the room you’re in.

So while moths can now go into the bathroom without fear… so can you!