Toilet Talk

 

The other night, while not being able to sleep, a random thought came into my mind. Toilets. How interesting are they? Who invented them? I mean, wayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy back then, who thought, “Hey, let’s stop peeing and pooping in the woods and create some sort of bowl that we can go to the bathroom in.”

And let’s not forget toilet paper. Was that invented long after? Or did people use leaves (or—GASP—not wipe at all??)

Did you know that Thomas Crapper did NOT invent the toilet? (By the way, imagine having the last name Crapper!). Here is a fun article explaining where the toilet originated…

https://www.brubakerinc.com/so-who-invented-the-toilet/

Here are some fun facts about the toilet:

Sir John Harrington and the “Ajax”:

Sir John Harrington, godson of Queen Elizabeth I, is credited with inventing the first flushing toilet in 1592, which he called the “Ajax”. 

Toilet Usage Frequency:

On average, a person uses the toilet about 2,500 times a year, which equates to roughly 6-8 times a day. 

Time Spent on the Toilet:

The average person spends about three years of their life sitting on a toilet. 

The Ancient Egyptian Toilet:

In Ancient Egypt, having an indoor toilet was a sign of wealth, with the wealthy using limestone seats while the poor used wooden stools with holes. 

The First Modern Toilet Seat:

The first modern toilet seat prototype was built by a poet, not a plumber. 

Public Toilets in Ancient Rome:

Using public toilets in ancient Rome was a social experience, not a private one. 

World Toilet Day:

November 19th is celebrated as World Toilet Day, focusing on the importance of sanitation and toilets. 

The Universal Waste Management System:

The Universal Waste Management System is a toilet for astronauts at the International Space Station that uses advanced technology to purify water for drinking. 

The Pentagon:

The Pentagon uses approximately 636 rolls of toilet paper a day. 

Alfred Hitchcock’s “Psycho”:

Alfred Hitchcock’s “Psycho” was the first film to show a toilet being flushed, which caused several complaints about indecency. 

The World's Largest Toilet-Themed Restaurant:

The world's largest toilet-themed restaurant is located in Taipei, Taiwan, and is called “Modern Toilet”. 

China and Pet Toilets:

China has public toilets for dogs as part of new civility laws to keep city streets clean. 

The Toilet Culture Museum:

Suwon city's Toilet Culture Museum spreads knowledge about the importance of toilets throughout the world. 

Toilet Deities:

Several ancient cultures, from Japan to Rome, prayed to household toilet deities for health, well-being, and fertility. 

What is your favorite toilet fact?

Why Wait for the BREW?

 

Everyone who knows me knows I’m obsessed with coffee. I love coffee. I’m not one of those “coffee lovers” who fill their cups with cream and sugar and then add coffee. I’m a true coffee lover. I drink it black unless I get it from Dunkin’ or Starbucks (bleh, that one is rare), and I do enjoy the taste. It’s definitely an acquired taste, though!

So… If you like coffee, you probably have a Keurig or a programmable coffee pot, right? I mean, who wants to wait for coffee to be brewed in a pot? Keurig is the longest I’d wait, and even that is too long!

Do you know who doesn’t seem to have a problem waiting for coffee to brew? Characters in books! I have yet to read a novel in which the characters actually set the timer on their coffee pot to be ready when they wake up. It’s always the character crawling out of bed, shuffling to the coffee pot, and either pressing the START button or preparing it and then starting it. Then they wait.

Funny thing is these people (usually the main character) seem to love coffee and are usually impatient to wait. So why don’t they program their coffee maker ahead of time?!

Come to think of it, I think some of my characters in certain books wait for theirs as well. WHAT? {{shrugging}}

Do you remember when coffee was just a cup of hot coffee? There was no iced coffee, frozen coffee, Frappuccino’s, lattes, mochas…you get the point. Somewhere over time, coffee has morphed into a whole huge industry. There is typically more than one coffee shop in a town, and if you are in a bigger city, there will often be several coffee shops, both well-known places and local spots. And people are drinking coffee younger and younger! I didn’t really start drinking coffee consistently until my mid-20s, but I see teenagers and even YOUNGER kids drinking it now. Of course, a lot of the time, they are drinking sugary variations of coffee and there is very little ACTUAL coffee in the drink.

Those drinks are fine for some people, but just give me some regular, caffeinated hot coffee in a mug and I am happy.

What kind of coffee do YOU like to drink? Do you use a Keurig or coffee pot? Maybe you use a Percolator! I have one of those too. Just takes too long.