Toilet

A toilet[n 1] is a piece of sanitary hardware (sanitaryware) that collects human waste (urine and feces) and sometimes toilet paper, usually for disposal. Flush toilets use water, while dry or non-flush toilets do not. They can be designed for a sitting position popular in Europe and North America with a toilet seat, with additional considerations for those with disabilities, or for a squatting posture more popular in Asia, known as a squat toilet. In urban areas, flush toilets are usually connected to a sewer system; in isolated areas, to a septic tank. The waste is known as blackwater and the combined effluent, including other sources, is sewage. Dry toilets are connected to a pit, removable container, composting chamber, or other storage and treatment device, including urine diversion with a urine-diverting toilet. "Toilet" or "toilets" is also widely used for rooms containing only one or more toilets and hand-basins. Lavatory is an older word for toilet.

The technology used for modern toilets varies. Toilets are commonly made of ceramic (porcelain), concrete, plastic, or wood. Newer toilet technologies include dual flushing, low flushing, toilet seat warming, self-cleaning, female urinals and waterless urinals. Japan is known for its toilet technology. Airplane toilets are specially designed to operate in the air. The need to maintain anal hygiene post-defecation is universally recognized and toilet paper (often held by a toilet roll holder), which may also be used to wipe the vulva after urination, is widely used (as well as bidets).

In private homes, depending on the region and style, the toilet may exist in the same bathroom as the sink, bathtub, and shower. Another option is to have one room for body washing (also called "bathroom") and a separate one for the toilet and handwashing sink (toilet room). Public toilets (restrooms) consist of one or more toilets (and commonly single urinals or trough urinals) which are available for use by the general public. Products like urinal blocks and toilet blocks help maintain the smell and cleanliness of toilets. Toilet seat covers are sometimes used. Portable toilets (frequently chemical "porta johns") may be brought in for large and temporary gatherings.

Historically, sanitation has been a concern from the earliest stages of human settlements. However, many poor households in developing countries use very basic, and often unhygienic, toilets – and 419 million people have no access to a toilet at all; they must openly defecate and urinate.[1] These issues can lead to the spread of diseases transmitted via the fecal-oral route, or the transmission of waterborne diseases such as cholera and dysentery. Therefore, the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 6 wants to "achieve access to adequate and equitable sanitation and hygiene for all and end open defecation".[2]

## Contents

* 1 Overview
* 2 With water
* 2.1 Flush toilet
* 2.1.1 Twin pit designs
* 2.2 Vacuum toilet
* 2.3 Floating toilet
* 3 Without water
* 3.1 Pit latrine
* 3.2 Vault toilet
* 3.3 Urine-diverting toilet
* 3.4 Portable toilet
* 3.5 Chemical toilet
* 3.6 Toilet fed to animals
* 3.7 "Flying toilet"
* 4 Squat toilets
* 5 Usage
* 5.1 Urination
* 5.2 Anal cleansing habits
* 5.3 Accessible toilets
* 5.4 Public toilets
* 5.5 Communication through toilets
* 6 Public health aspects
* 7 History
* 7.1 Ancient history
* 7.2 Post-classical history
* 7.3 Modern history
* 7.3.1 Development of dry earth closets
* 7.3.2 Development of flush toilets
* 7.3.3 High-tech toilets
* 8 Names
* 8.1 Etymology
* 8.2 Contemporary use
* 8.3 Regional variants
* 8.4 Euphemisms
* 9 Gallery
* 10 See also
* 11 Explanatory notes
* 12 References
* 13 External links

## Overview

The number of different types of toilets used worldwide is large,[3][4] but can be grouped by:

* Having water (which seals in odor) or not (which usually relates to e.g. flush toilet versus dry toilet)
* Being used in a sitting or squatting position (sitting toilet versus squat toilet)
* Being located in the private household or in public (toilet room versus public toilet)

Toilets can be designed to be used in standing, sitting, or squatting postures. Each type has its benefits. The "sitting toilet", however, is essential for those who are movement impaired. Sitting toilets are often referred to as "western-style toilets".[5] Sitting toilets are more convenient than squat toilets for people with disabilities and the elderly.

People use different toilet types based on the country that they are in. In developing countries, access to toilets is also related to people's socio-economic status. Poor people in low-income countries often have no toilets at all and resort to open defecation instead. This is part of the sanitation crisis which international initiatives (such as World Toilet Day) draw attention to.[6]

## With water

### Flush toilet

Flush toilet bowl

File:Toilet-flush.ogg A typical flush toilet is a ceramic bowl (pan) connected on the "up" side to a cistern (tank) that enables rapid filling with water, and on the "down" side to a drain pipe that removes the effluent. When a toilet is flushed, the sewage should flow into a septic tank or into a system connected to a sewage treatment plant. However, in many developing countries, this treatment step does not take place.

The water in the toilet bowl is connected to a pipe shaped like an upside-down U. One side of the U channel is arranged as a siphon tube longer than the water in the bowl is high. The siphon tube connects to the drain. The bottom of the drain pipe limits the height of the water in the bowl before it flows down the drain. The water in the bowl acts as a barrier to sewer gas entering the building. Sewer gas escapes through a vent pipe attached to the sewer line.

The amount of water used by conventional flush toilets usually makes up a significant portion of personal daily water usage.[7] However, modern low flush toilet designs allow the use of much less water per flush. Dual flush toilets allow the user to select between a flush for urine or feces, saving a significant amount of water over conventional units. One type of dual flush system allows the flush handle to be pushed up for one kind of flush and down for the other,[8] whereas another design is to have two buttons, one for urination and the other for defecation. In some places, users are encouraged not to flush after urination. Flushing toilets can be plumbed to use greywater (water that was previously used for washing dishes, laundry, and bathing) rather than potable water (drinking water). Some modern toilets pressurize the water in the tank, which initiates flushing action with less water usage. Flush toilets on boats and ships (called the head) may be flushed with seawater or fresh water.[9][10]

Another variant is the pour-flush toilet.[3] This type of flush toilet has no cistern but is flushed manually with a few liters of a small bucket. The flushing can use as little as 2–3 litres (0.44–0.66 imp gal; 0.53–0.79 US gal).[3] This type of toilet is common in many Asian countries. The toilet can be connected to one or two pits, in which case it is called a "pour flush pit latrine" or a "twin pit pour flush to pit latrine". It can also be connected to a septic tank.[11]

#### Twin pit designs

Design of a twin pit latrine.

Twin pit latrines use two pits used alternatively, when one pit gets full over a few months or years.[12] The pits are of an adequate size to accommodate a volume of waste generated over one or two years. This allows the contents of the full pit enough time to transform into a partially sanitized, soil-like material that can be manually excavated.[13] There is a risk of groundwater pollution when pits are located in areas with a high or variable water table, and/or fissures or cracks in the bedrock.[13]

### Vacuum toilet

Vacuum toilet in a train in Switzerland.

A vacuum toilet is a flush toilet that is connected to a vacuum sewer system, and removes waste by suction. They may use very little water (less than a quarter of a liter per flush)[14] or none,[15] (as in waterless urinals). Some flush with coloured disinfectant solution rather than with water.[14] They may be used to separate blackwater and greywater, and process them separately[16] (for instance, the fairly dry blackwater can be used for biogas production, or in a composting toilet).

Passenger train toilets, aircraft lavatories, bus toilets, and ships with plumbing often use vacuum toilets. The lower water usage saves weight, and avoids water slopping out of the toilet bowl in motion.[17] Aboard vehicles, a portable collection chamber is used; if it is filled by positive pressure from an intermediate vacuum chamber, it need not be kept under vacuum.[18]

### Floating toilet

A floating toilet is essentially a toilet on a platform built above or floating on the water. Instead of excreta going into the ground they are collected in a tank or barrel. To reduce the amount of excreta that needs to hauled to shore, many use urine diversion. The floating toilet was developed for residents without quick access to land or connection to a sewer systems.[19] It is also used in areas subjected to prolonged flooding.[20] The need for this type of toilet is high in areas like Cambodia.[21]

## Without water

This section is an excerpt from Dry toilet[ edit ]

### Pit latrine

This section is an excerpt from pit latrine[ edit ]

### Vault toilet

A vault toilet is a non-flush toilet with a sealed container (or vault) buried in the ground to receive the excreta, all of which is contained underground until it is removed by pumping. A vault toilet is distinguished from a pit latrine because the waste accumulates in the vault instead of seeping into the underlying soil.

### Urine-diverting toilet

This section is an excerpt from Urine-diverting dry toilet[ edit ]

### Portable toilet

This section is an excerpt from Portable toilet[ edit ]

### Chemical toilet

This section is an excerpt from Chemical toilet[ edit ]

### Toilet fed to animals

The pig toilet, which consists of a toilet linked to a pigsty by a chute, is still in use to a limited extent.[22] It was common in rural China, and was known in Japan, Korea, and India. The fish pond toilet depends on the same principle, of livestock (often carp) eating human excreta directly.

### "Flying toilet"

This section is an excerpt from Flying toilet[ edit ]

## Squat toilets

This section is an excerpt from Squat toilet[ edit ]

* At Topkapı Palace, Turkey

* Old-style squat toilet (Hong Kong)

* In France

* Porcelain squat toilet with water tank for flushing (Wuhan, China)

## Usage

### Urination

Main article: Biology:Urination

A man seen from behind urinating while standing.

There are cultural differences in socially accepted and preferred voiding positions for urination around the world: in the Middle East and Asia, the squatting position is more prevalent, while in the Western world the standing and sitting position are more common.[23]

### Anal cleansing habits

A modern bidet of the traditional type, available in many southern European and South American countries.[24]

In the Western world, the most common method of cleaning the anal area after defecation is by toilet paper or sometimes by using a bidet. In many Muslim countries, the facilities are designed to enable people to follow Islamic toilet etiquette Qaḍāʼ al-Ḥājah.[25] For example, a bidet shower may be plumbed in. The left hand is used for cleansing, for which reason that hand is considered impolite or polluted in many Asian countries.[26]

The use of water in many Christian countries is due in part to the biblical toilet etiquette which encourages washing after all instances of defecation.[27] The bidet is common in predominantly Catholic countries where water is considered essential for anal cleansing,[28][29] and in some traditionally Orthodox and Lutheran countries such as Greece and Finland respectively, where bidet showers are common.[30]

There are toilets on the market with seats having integrated spray mechanisms for anal and genital water sprays (see for example Toilets in Japan). This can be useful for the elderly or people with disabilities.

### Accessible toilets

An accessible toilet is designed to accommodate people with physical disabilities, such as age related limited mobility or inability to walk due to impairments. Additional measures to add toilet accessibility are providing more space and grab bars to ease transfer to and from the toilet seat, including enough room for a caregiver if necessary.

### Public toilets

This section is an excerpt from Public toilet[ edit ]

### Communication through toilets

In prisons, inmates may utilize toilets and the associated plumbing to communicate messages and pass products.[31][32] The acoustic properties of communicating through the toilet bowl, known as toilet talk, potty talk,[33] toilet telephone[34] is influenced by flush patterns and bowl water volumes.[33] Prisoners may also send binary signals by ringing the sewage or water pipes.[35] Toilet talk enables communication for those in solitary confinement.[36] Toilets have been subject to wiretaps.[37]

## Public health aspects

File:2011 07-Internal ReinventTheToilet Animation.webm

To this day, 1 billion people in developing countries have no toilets in their homes and are resorting to open defecation instead.[38] Therefore, it is one of the targets of Sustainable Development Goal 6 to provide toilets (sanitation services) to everyone by 2030.[2][39]

Toilets are one important element of a sanitation system, although other elements are also needed: transport, treatment, disposal, or reuse.[3] Diseases, including Cholera, which still affects some 3 million people each year, can be largely prevented when effective sanitation and water treatment prevents fecal matter from contaminating waterways, groundwater, and drinking water supplies.

## History

### Ancient history

Sewage and toilet structures in the city of Lothal of the Indus Valley Civilisation in around 2350 BC. Roman public toilets, Ostia Antica. Squatting toilets at Kaludiya Pokuna archeological site, Sri Lanka. Model of toilet with pigsty, China, Eastern Han dynasty 25–220 AD

The fourth millennium BC would witness the invention of clay pipes, sewers, and toilets, in Mesopotamia, with the city of Uruk today exhibiting the earliest known internal pit toilet, from c. 3200 BC.[40] The Neolithic village of Skara Brae contains examples, c. 3000 BC, of internal small rooms over a communal drain, rather than pit.[41] The Indus Valley Civilisation in northwestern India and Pakistan was home to the world's first known urban sanitation systems. In Mohenjo-Daro (c. 2800 BC), toilets were built into the outer walls of homes. These toilets had vertical chutes, via which waste was disposed of into cesspits or street drains.[42] In the Indus city of Lothal (c. 2350 BC), houses belonging to the upper class had private toilets connected to a covered sewer network[43] constructed of brickwork held together with a gypsum-based mortar that emptied either into the surrounding water bodies or alternatively into cesspits, the latter of which were regularly emptied and cleaned.[44]

Other very early toilets that used flowing water to remove the waste are found at Skara Brae in Orkney, Scotland, which was occupied from about 3100 BC until 2500 BC. Some of the houses there have a drain running directly beneath them, and some of these had a cubicle over the drain. Around the 18th century BC, toilets started to appear in Minoan Crete, Pharaonic Egypt, and ancient Persia.

In 2012, archaeologists found what is believed to be Southeast Asia's earliest latrine during the excavation of a Neolithic village in the Rạch Núi archaeological site (vi), southern Vietnam. The toilet, dating back 1500 BC, yielded important clues about early Southeast Asian society. More than 30 coprolites, containing fish and shattered animal bones, provided information on the diet of humans and dogs, and on the types of parasites each had to contend with.[45][46][47]

In Sri Lanka, the techniques of the construction of toilets and lavatories developed over several stages. A highly developed stage in this process is discernible in the constructions at the Abhayagiri complex in Anuradhapura where toilets and baths dating back to 2nd century BC to 3rd century CE are known, later forms of toilets from 5th century CE to 13th century CE in Polonnaruwa and Anuradhapura had elaborate decorative motifs carved around the toilets.[48][49][50] Several types of toilets were developed; these include lavatories with ring-well pits, underground terracotta pipes that lead to septic pits, urinary pits with large bottomless clay pots of decreasing size placed one above the other. These pots under urinals contained "sand, lime and charcoal" through which urine filtered down to the earth in a somewhat purified form.[48]

In Roman civilization, latrines using flowing water were sometimes part of public bath houses. Roman latrines, like the ones pictured here, are commonly thought to have been used in the sitting position. The Roman toilets were probably elevated to raise them above open sewers which were periodically "flushed" with flowing water, rather than elevated for sitting. Romans and Greeks also used chamber pots, which they brought to meals and drinking sessions.[51] Johan J. Mattelaer said, "Plinius has described how there were large receptacles in the streets of cities such as Rome and Pompeii into which chamber pots of urine were emptied. The urine was then collected by fullers." (Fulling was a vital step in textile manufacture.)

The Han dynasty in China two thousand years ago used pig toilets.

### Post-classical history

Garderobes were toilets used in the Post-classical history, most commonly found in upper-class dwellings. Essentially, they were flat pieces of wood or stone spanning from one wall to the other, with one or more holes to sit on. These were above chutes or pipes that discharged outside the castle or Manor house.[52] Garderobes would be placed in areas away from bedrooms because of the smell[53] and also near kitchens or fireplaces to keep their enclosures warm.[52]

* Garderobe seat openings

* View looking down into garderobe seat opening

* Exterior view of garderobe at Campen Castle

* Toilet in Rosenborg Castle Copenhagen

The other main way of handling toilet needs was the chamber pot, a receptacle, usually of ceramic or metal, into which one would excrete waste. This method was used for hundreds of years; shapes, sizes, and decorative variations changed throughout the centuries.[54] Chamber pots were in common use in Europe from ancient times, even being taken to the Middle East by medieval pilgrims.[55]

### Modern history

Bourdaloue chamber pots from the Austrian Imperial household Early 18th century British three-seat privy 19th century thunderbox, a heavy wooden commode to enclose chamber pot

By the Early Modern era, chamber pots were frequently made of china or copper, and could include elaborate decoration. They were emptied into the gutter of the street nearest to the home.

In pre-modern Denmark, people generally defecated on farmland or other places where the human waste could be collected as fertilizer.[56] The Old Norse language had several terms for referring to outhouses, including garðhús (yard house), náð-/náða-hús (house of rest), and annat hús (the other house). In general, toilets were functionally non-existent in rural Denmark until the 18th century.[56]

By the 16th century, cesspits and cesspools were increasingly dug into the ground near houses in Europe as a means of collecting waste. As urban populations grew and street gutters became blocked with the larger volume of human waste, rain was no longer sufficient to wash away waste from the gutters. A pipe connected the latrine to the cesspool, and sometimes a small amount of water washed waste through. Cesspools were cleaned out by tradesmen, known in English as gong farmers, who pumped out liquid waste, then shovelled out the solid waste and collected it during the night. This solid waste, euphemistically known as nightsoil, was sold as fertilizer for agricultural production (similarly to the closing-the-loop approach of ecological sanitation).

In the early 19th century, public officials and public hygiene experts studied and debated sanitation for several decades. The construction of an underground network of pipes to carry away solid and liquid waste was only begun in the mid 19th-century, gradually replacing the cesspool system, although cesspools were still in use in some parts of Paris into the 20th century.[57] Even London, at that time the world's largest city, did not require indoor toilets in its building codes until after the First World War.

The water closet, with its origins in Tudor times, started to assume its currently known form, with an overhead cistern, s-bends, soil pipes and valves, around 1770. This was the work of Alexander Cumming and Joseph Bramah. Water closets only started to be moved from outside to inside of the home around 1850.[58] The integral water closet started to be built into middle-class homes in the 1860s and 1870s, firstly on the principal bedroom floor and in larger houses in the maids' accommodation, and by 1900 a further one in the hallway. A toilet would also be placed outside the back door of the kitchen for use by gardeners and other outside staff, such as those working with the horses. The speed of introduction was varied, so that in 1906 the predominantly working-class town of Rochdale had 750 water closets for a population of 10,000.[58]

The working-class home had transitioned from the rural cottage, to the urban back-to-back terraces with external rows of privies, to the through terraced houses of the 1880 with their sculleries and individual external WC. It was the Tudor Walters Report of 1918 that recommended that semi-skilled workers should be housed in suburban cottages with kitchens and internal WC. As recommended floor standards changed in the building standards and codes, the bathroom with a water closet and later the low-level suite became more prominent in the home.[59]

Before the introduction of indoor toilets, it was common to use the chamber pot under one's bed at night and then to dispose of its contents in the morning. During the Victorian era, British housemaids collected all of the household's chamber pots and carried them to a room known as the housemaids' cupboard. This room contained a "slop sink", made of wood with a lead lining to prevent chipping china chamber pots, for washing the "bedroom ware" or "chamber utensils". Once running water and flush toilets were plumbed into British houses, servants were sometimes given their own lavatory downstairs, separate from the family lavatory.[60] The practice of emptying one's own chamber pot, known as slopping out, continued in British prisons until as recently as 2014[61] and was still in use in 85 cells in Ireland in July 2017.[62]

With rare exceptions, chamber pots are no longer used. Similar modern implements include bedpans and commodes, which are used in hospitals and the homes of disabled people.

Long-established sanitary ware manufacturers in the United Kingdom include Adamsez, founded in Newcastle-upon-Tyne in 1880 by M.J. and S.H. Adams,[63] and Twyfords, founded in Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent in 1849 by Thomas Twyford and his son Thomas William Twyford.[64]

#### Development of dry earth closets

Henry Moule's earth closet design, c. 1909

Before the widespread adoption of the flush toilet, there were inventors, scientists, and public health officials who supported the use of "dry earth closets" – nowadays known either as dry toilets or composting toilets.[65]

#### Development of flush toilets

Although a precursor to the flush toilet system which is widely used nowadays was designed in 1596 by John Harington, such systems did not come into widespread use until the late nineteenth century.{{citation needed|date=August 2019} Revolution]] and related advances in technology, the flush toilet began to emerge into its modern form. A crucial advance in plumbing was the S-trap, invented by the Scottish mechanic Alexander Cummings in 1775, and still in use today. This device uses the standing water to seal the outlet of the bowl, preventing the escape of foul air from the sewer. It was only in the mid-19th century, with growing levels of urbanisation and industrial prosperity, that the flush toilet became a widely used and marketed invention. This period coincided with the dramatic growth in the sewage system, especially in London, which made the flush toilet particularly attractive for health and sanitation reasons.[58]

Flush toilets were also known as "water closets", as opposed to the earth closets described above. Water closets first appeared in Britain in the 1880s, and soon spread to Continental Europe. In America, the chain-pull indoor toilet was introduced in the homes of the wealthy and in hotels in the 1890s. William Elvis Sloan invented the Flushometer in 1906, which used pressurized water directly from the supply line for faster recycle time between flushes.

#### High-tech toilets

See also: Engineering:Toilets in Japan

"High-tech" toilets, which can be found in countries like Japan, may include features such as automatic flushing mechanisms; water jets, blow dryers, or artificial flush sounds to mask noises. Others can include medical monitoring features such as urine and stool analysis and the checking of blood pressure, temperature, and blood sugar. Some toilets have automatic lid operation, heated seats, deodorizing fans, or automated replacement of paper toilet-seat-covers. Interactive urinals have been developed in several countries, allowing users to play video games. The "Toylet", produced by Sega, uses pressure sensors to detect the flow of urine and translates that into on-screen action.[66]

Astronauts on the International Space Station use a space toilet with urine diversion, which can recover potable water.[67]

## Names

### Etymology

In La Toilette from Hogarth's Marriage à la Mode series (1743), a young countess receives her lover, tradesmen, hangers-on, and an Italian tenor as she finishes her toilette[68] Detail of Queen Charlotte with her Two Eldest Sons, Johan Zoffany, 1765, (the whole painting). She is doing her toilet, with her silver-gilt toilet service on the dressing-table

Toilet was originally a French loanword (first attested in 1540) that referred to the toilette ("little cloth") draped over one's shoulders during hairdressing.[69] During the late 17th century,[69] the term came to be used by metonymy in both languages for the whole complex of grooming and body care that centered at a dressing table (also covered by a cloth) and for the equipment composing a toilet service, including a mirror, hairbrushes, and containers for powder and makeup. The time spent at such a table also came to be known as one's "toilet"; it came to be a period during which close friends or tradesmen were received as "toilet-calls".[69][72]

The use of "toilet" to describe a special room for grooming came much later (first attested in 1819), following the French cabinet de toilet. Similar to "powder room", "toilet" then came to be used as a euphemism for rooms dedicated to urination and defecation, particularly in the context of signs for public toilets, as on trains. Finally, it came to be used for the plumbing fixtures in such rooms (apparently first in the United States) as these replaced chamber pots, outhouses, and latrines. These two uses, the fixture and the room, completely supplanted the other senses of the word during the 20th century[69] except in the form "toiletries".[n 2]

### Contemporary use

The word "toilet" was by etymology a euphemism, but is no longer understood as such. As old euphemisms have become the standard term, they have been progressively replaced by newer ones, an example of the euphemism treadmill at work.[73] The choice of word relies not only on regional variation, but also on social situation and level of formality (register) or social class. American manufacturers show an uneasiness with the word and its class attributes: American Standard, the largest firm, sells them as "toilets", yet the higher-priced products of the Kohler Company, often installed in more expensive housing, are sold as commodes or closets, words which also carry other meanings. Confusingly, products imported from Japan such as TOTO are referred to as "toilets", even though they carry the cachet of higher cost and quality. Toto (an abbreviation of Tōyō Tōki, 東洋陶器, Oriental Ceramics) is used in Japanese comics to visually indicate toilets or other things that look like toilets (see Toilets in Japan).

### Regional variants

Different dialects use "bathroom" and "restroom" (American English), "bathroom" and "washroom" (Canadian English), and "WC" (an initialism for "water closet"), "lavatory" and its abbreviation "lav" (British English). Euphemisms for the toilet that bear no direct reference to the activities of urination and defecation are ubiquitous in modern Western languages, reflecting a general attitude of unspeakability about such bodily function. These euphemistic practices appear to have become pronounced following the emergence of European colonial practices, which frequently denigrated colonial subjects in Africa, Asia and South America as 'unclean'.[74][75]

### Euphemisms

"Crapper" was already in use as a coarse name for a toilet, but it gained currency from the work of Thomas Crapper, who popularized flush toilets in England and held several patents on toilet improvements.

"The Jacks" is Irish slang for toilet.[76] It perhaps derives from "jacques" and "jakes", an old English term.[77]

"Loo" – The etymology of loo is obscure. The Oxford English Dictionary notes the 1922 appearance of "How much cost? Waterloo. Watercloset." in James Joyce's novel Ulysses and defers to Alan S. C. Ross's arguments that it derived in some fashion from the site of Napoleon's 1815 defeat.[78][79] In the 1950s the use of the word "loo" was considered one of the markers of British upper-class speech, featuring in a famous essay, "U and non-U English".[80] "Loo" may have derived from a corruption of French l'eau ("water"), gare à l'eau – whence Scots gardy loo – ("mind the water", used in reference to emptying chamber pots into the street from an upper-story window), lieu ("place"), lieu d'aisance ("place of ease", used euphemistically for a toilet), or lieu à l'anglaise ("English place", used from around 1770 to refer to English-style toilets installed for travelers).[78][81][82] Other proposed etymologies include a supposed tendency to place toilets in room 100 (hence "loo") in English hotels,[83] a sailors' dialectal corruption of the nautical term "lee" in reference to the shipboard need to urinate and defecate with the wind prior to the advent of head pumps,[n 3] or the 17th-century preacher Louis Bourdaloue, whose long sermons at Paris's Saint-Paul-Saint-Louis prompted his parishioners to bring along chamber pots, and his surname was applied to the pots themselves.[84]

## Gallery

* Men's toilet designed by artist and architect Hundertwasser

* Toilet in Delftware style

* Toilet bus in Samsun, Turkey

* Duo toilet for child training in a banquet hall near Jerusalem

* Toilet in Croatian National Theatre in Zagreb, Croatia

* A public toilet in Antipolo, Philippines

* Instructions on using a urine-diverting dry toilet in Sri Lanka

## See also

* Community toilet scheme
* Electronic toilet
* Green train corridor
* Human right to water and sanitation
* Improved sanitation
* Pay toilet
* Sanisette
* Sulabh International Museum of Toilets
* Sustainable Sanitation Alliance
* Swachh Bharat Mission
* Toilet humour
* Toilet-related injuries and deaths
* Vermifilter toilet
* Waste management
* World Toilet Day
* World Toilet Organization – organization which focuses on toilets and sanitation at the global level
* Workers' right to access the toilet

## Explanatory notes

1. ↑ For a full list of English synonyms, see "toilet" in Wiktionary's thesaurus.
2. ↑ The French eau de toilette ("toilet water") is sometimes used as a sophisticated synonym for perfume and cologne but is generally received jokingly, as with Cosmopolitan's parody "If it doesn't say 'eau de toilette' on the label, it most likely doesn't come from the famed region of Eau de Toilette in France and might not even come from toilets at all."
3. ↑ Yachtsmen still tend to refer to their toilets as "loos" rather than "heads".[citation needed]

## References

1. ↑ "Sanitation" (in en). https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/sanitation.
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Goal 6: Clean water and sanitation". http://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/sustainable-development-goals/goal-6-clean-water-and-sanitation.html.
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Tilley, Elizabeth; Ulrich, Lukas; Lüthi, Christoph; Reymond, Philippe; Zurbrügg, Chris (2014). Compendium of Sanitation Systems and Technologies (2nd ed.). Duebendorf, Switzerland: Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology (Eawag). ISBN 978-3-906484-57-0. http://www.eawag.ch/en/department/sandec/publications/compendium/.
4. ↑ Shaw, R. (2014). A Collection of Contemporary Toilet Designs. EOOS and WEDC, Loughborough University, UK. pp. 40. ISBN 978-1-84380-155-9. http://www.susana.org/en/resources/library/details/1993.
5. ↑ Gershenson, Olga; Penner, Barbara (2009): Ladies and gents – Public toilets and gender. Temple University Press, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
6. ↑ "World Toilet Day 19 November". http://www.un.org/en/events/toiletday/.
7. ↑ "How Much Water Does Your Toilet Use?" (in en-US). https://www.savingwater.org/indoors/toilets/how-much-water-does-your-toilet-use/.
8. ↑ "Tucson lawmaker wants tax credits for water-conserving toilet". Cronkite News Service. http://cronkitenews.jmc.asu.edu/?p=315.
9. ↑ Publishing, Bloomsbury (2013-03-14) (in en). The Boat Maintenance Bible: Refit, Improve and Repair with the Experts. A&C Black. pp. 136. ISBN 978-1-4081-5609-4. https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Boat_Maintenance_Bible/qgtTDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Flush toilets on ships are typically flushed with seawater.&pg=PT137&printsec=frontcover.
10. ↑ Sailing, American (2014-01-01) (in en). Bareboat Cruising Made Easy: The Official Manual For The ASA 104 Bareboat Cruising Course. American Sailing. pp. 43. ISBN 978-0-9821025-2-7. https://www.google.com/books/edition/Bareboat_Cruising_Made_Easy/BpSEDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PA43&printsec=frontcover.
11. ↑ "Some Squat Toilets in Asia Can Be Scary -- Here's How to Survive Them!" (in en). https://www.tripsavvy.com/squat-toilets-in-asia-1458304.
12. ↑ Tilley, E.; Ulrich, L.; Lüthi, C.; Reymond, Ph.; Zurbrügg, C. (2014). Compendium of Sanitation Systems and Technologies (2 ed.). Dübendorf, Switzerland: Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology (Eawag). ISBN 978-3-906484-57-0. http://www.sandec.ch/compendium.
13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 "Single Ventilated Improved Pit – Akvopedia". https://akvopedia.org/wiki/Single_Ventilated_Improved_Pit. This article incorporates text available under the CC BY 3.0 license.
14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 "Aircraft Toilets/Toilets of the World" (in en). https://toilet-guru.com/aircraft.php.
15. ↑ "What are Vacuum Toilets?". 22 July 2023. https://www.wisegeek.com/what-are-vacuum-toilets.htm.
16. ↑ "Vacuum Toilet | SSWM – Find tools for sustainable sanitation and water management!" (in en). https://sswm.info/water-nutrient-cycle/water-use/hardwares/toilet-systems/vacuum-toilet.
17. ↑ "How does the toilet in a commercial airliner work?" (in en). 1 April 2000. https://science.howstuffworks.com/transport/flight/modern/question314.htm.
18. ↑ "EVAC Bus Vacuum Toilet". https://www.evac-train.com/products/vacuum-toilet-systems/evac-bus-toilet/.
19. ↑ "Sample Designs: Floating UDD Toilets". Asian Development Bank.
20. ↑ "Article, Govt: Bt900bn needed (in Thailand), The Nation October 31, 2011". http://www.nationmultimedia.com/national/Govt-Bt900bn-needed-30168866.html.
21. ↑ Cain, Geoffrey. (19 April 2010). "Floating toilets to clean up Cambodia's act". Global Post.
22. ↑ Juuti, Petri; Katko, Tapio; Vuorinen, H. (14 November 2012). Environmental History of Water: Global Views on Community Water Supply and ... – Petri S. Juuti – Google Books. IWA. p. 40. ISBN 9781843391104. https://books.google.com/books?id=x7Ov-mVPjZ0C. Retrieved 6 November 2022.
23. ↑ Y. de Jong. "Influence of voiding posture on urodynamic parameters in men: a literature review (in Dutch)". Nederlands Tijdschrift voor urologie. http://www.mednet.nl/wosmedia/1718/mictiehouding_tvu.pdf.
24. ↑ Roberto Zapperi: Zu viel Moralismus macht den Körper schmutzig., in: FAZ, 24 aprile 2010.
25. ↑ Shu'aib, Tajuddin B., "Qadaahul Haajah (Relieving Oneself)", The Prescribed Prayer Made Simple (MSA West Compendium of Muslim Texts), http://www.msawest.com/islam/fundamentals/pillars/prayer/prescribed/pp1_2.html, retrieved 10 March 2009
26. ↑ "Eight surprisingly rude gestures to avoid when travelling". 21 November 2013. http://www.news.com.au/travel/travel-advice/eight-surprisingly-rude-gestures-to-avoid-when-travelling/story-e6frfqfr-1226764916221.
27. ↑ E. Clark, Mary (2006). Contemporary Biology: Concepts and Implications. University of Michigan Press. ISBN 9780721625973.
28. ↑ E. Clark, Mary (2006). Contemporary Biology: Concepts and Implications. University of Michigan Press. p. 613. ISBN 9780721625973. "Douching is commonly practiced in Catholic countries. The bidet ... is still commonly found in France and other Catholic countries."
29. ↑ (in it) Made in Naples. Come Napoli ha civilizzato l'Europa (e come continua a farlo). Addictions-Magenes Editoriale. 2013. ISBN 978-8866490395.
30. ↑ H, Santiago (8 July 2014). "A hose: the strange device next to every Finnish toilet". https://en.biginfinland.com/hose-always-next-every-finnish-toilet/.
31. ↑ Sifakis, Carl (30 June 2014). "Muling" (in en). The Encyclopedia of American Prisons. Infobase Publishing. p. 172. ISBN 978-1-4381-2987-7. https://books.google.com/books?id=ObIQUpJxHZYC. Retrieved 27 May 2024.
32. ↑ Jackson, Joe; Burke (Jr.), William F. (1999) (in en). Dead Run: The Untold Story of Dennis Stockton and America's Only Mass Escape from Death Row. Times Books. p. 124. ISBN 978-0-8129-3206-5. https://books.google.com/books?id=ZVcrAAAAYAAJ.
33. ↑ 33.0 33.1 Lombardo, A. G. (13 March 2018) (in en). Graffiti Palace. Farrar, Straus and Giroux. pp. 179–181. ISBN 978-0-374-16591-8. https://books.google.com/books?id=jU1LDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA180. Retrieved 27 May 2024.
34. ↑ Jabusch, David M.; Littlejohn, Stephen W. (1995) (in en). Elements of Speech Communication. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 74. ISBN 978-0-939693-37-5. https://books.google.com/books?id=Us0eyUlKoKAC. Retrieved 27 May 2024.
35. ↑ Kaminski, Marek M. (5 June 2018) (in en). Games Prisoners Play: The Tragicomic Worlds of Polish Prison. Princeton University Press. p. 105. ISBN 978-0-691-18714-3. https://books.google.com/books?id=i_9ZDwAAQBAJ. Retrieved 27 May 2024.
36. ↑ Elliott, Elizabeth M. (21 May 2020). "Chapter 7. Geometry of Individuals and Relations" (in en). Security, With Care: Restorative Justice and Healthy Societies. Fernwood Publishing. p. 127. ISBN 978-1-77363-320-6. https://books.google.com/books?id=fQB0EAAAQBAJ&dq="toilet+talk"+"prison"&pg=PA127. Retrieved 27 May 2024.
37. ↑ Banks, Gabrielle (6 July 2007). "Inmates' toilet talk can be trouble". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. https://www.heraldnet.com/news/inmates-toilet-talk-can-be-trouble/.
38. ↑ manic. "World Toilet" (in en-US). http://worldtoilet.org/.
39. ↑ "Work of the Statistical Commission pertaining to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (A/RES/71/313)". https://undocs.org/Home/Mobile?FinalSymbol=A/RES/71/313&Language=E&DeviceType=Desktop&LangRequested=False.
40. ↑ Mitchell, Piers D. (3 March 2016) (in en). Sanitation, Latrines and Intestinal Parasites in Past Populations. Routledge. pp. 30. ISBN 978-1-317-05953-0. https://books.google.com/books?id=HU6rCwAAQBAJ&q=Tell+Asmar,+Northern+Palace,+sewer&pg=PA30.
41. ↑ Ailes, Emma (19 April 2013). "Scotland and the indoor toilet" (in en-GB). BBC News. https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-22214728.
42. ↑ Teresi et al. 2002
43. ↑ Andreas N. Angelakis, ed (2014). Evolution of Sanitation and Wastewater Technologies Through the Centuries. International Water Association Publishing. p. 32. ISBN 9781780404844.
44. ↑ Khan, Saifullah. "1 Chapter 2 Sanitation and wastewater technologies in Harappa/Indus valley civilization (ca. 2600–1900 BC)". Academia.edu. https://www.academia.edu/5937322.
45. ↑ "Old toilet find offers civilsation start clues" (in en). 14 June 2012. https://www.stuff.co.nz/science/7105724/Old-toilet-find-offers-civilsation-start-clues.
46. ↑ "Time capsule – Life & Style – Vietnam News | Politics, Business, Economy, Society, Life, Sports – VietNam News". 28 April 2021. https://vietnamnews.vn/life-style/226384/time-capsule.html.
47. ↑ "Asia's First Toilet Discovered In Southern Vietnam" (in en-US). 17 June 2012. https://www.asianscientist.com/2012/06/in-the-lab/asia-first-toilet-discovered-in-southern-vietnam-rach-nui-2012/.
48. ↑ 48.0 48.1 W.I., Siriweera (14 December 2004). "Sanitation and healthcare in ancient Sri Lanka". The Sri Lanka Journal of the Humanities. http://dlib.pdn.ac.lk/bitstream/123456789/2764/1/W.I. Siriweera - Vol. XXIX & XXX Nos. 1 & 2.pdf. Retrieved 14 December 2004.
49. ↑ A History of Medicine in Sri Lanka From the Earliest Times to 1948, Page 151, By C. G. Uragoda (1987), University of Michigan
50. ↑ Abhayagiri Vihara at Anuradhapura – Page 46, Tī. Jī Kulatuṅga (1999), Central Cultural Fund, Ministry of Cultural and Religious Affairs, University of Virginia
51. ↑ Mattelaer, Johan J. "Some Historical Aspects of Urinals and Urine Receptacles." World Journal of Urology 17.3 (1999): 145–50. Print.
52. ↑ 52.0 52.1 Genc, Melda. "The Evolution of Toilets and Its Current State." Thesis. Middle East Technical University, 2009. Harold B. Lee Library. Brigham Young University, 2009. Web. 28 November 2011.
53. ↑ "Middle Ages Hygiene." Middle Ages. The Middle Ages Website. Web. 28 November 2011.
54. ↑ Powell, Christine A. "Port Royal Chamberpots Introduction." Nautical Archaeology at Texas A&M University. Texas A&M University, 1 December 1996. Web. 28 November 2011.
55. ↑ Setton, Kenneth M.; Harry W. Hazard (1977). A History of the Crusades, Volume IV: The Art and Architecture of the Crusader States. University of Wisconsin Press. pp. 47. ISBN 978-0-299-06824-0.
56. ↑ 56.0 56.1 Newitz, Annalee (22 June 2017). "Unexpected Viking toilet discovery leads to controversy". https://arstechnica.com/science/2017/06/unexpected-viking-toilet-discovery-leads-to-controversy/.
57. ↑ La Berge, Ann Elizabeth Fowler (2002). Mission and Method: The Early Nineteenth-Century French Public Health Movement. Cambridge University Press. pp. 207–9. ISBN 978-0-521-52701-9.
58. ↑ 58.0 58.1 58.2 Burnett, John (1986). A Social History of Housing, 1815–1985. Illustrated by Christopher Powell (2nd. ed.). London: Methuen. p. 214. ISBN 0416367704.
59. ↑ Burnett, John (1986). A Social History of Housing, 1815–1985. Illustrated by Christopher Powell (2nd. ed.). London: Methuen. pp. 336, 337. ISBN 0416367704.
60. ↑ Flanders, Judith (2003). The Victorian House. London: HarperCollins. pp. 64. ISBN 0-00-713189-5.
61. ↑ Cole, Paul (26 October 2014). "Brutal sex killer claims having to slop out cell breaches his human rights". birminghammail. http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/midlands-news/brutal-sex-killer-claims-having-7988459.
62. ↑ "Slopping out ended in Cork Prison | Irish Penal Reform Trust (IPRT)" (in en). July 2016. http://www.iprt.ie/contents/2937.
63. ↑ "Heritage". https://adamsez.com/heritage/.
64. ↑ "History – TWYFORD BATHROOMS". https://www.twyfordbathrooms.com/about-us/history/.
65. ↑ "Fordington, Biography, Rev Henry Moule, 1801–1880". http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~fordingtondorset/Files/FordingtonHenryMoule1801-1880.html.
66. ↑ Geere, Duncan. (6 January 2011). "'Toylet' Games in Japan's Urinals". Wired UK. https://www.wired.com/2011/01/sega-urinal-games/. Retrieved 20 January 2011.
67. ↑ "Gives Space Station Crew 'Go' to Drink Recycled Water" (in en). http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2009/may/HQ_09-096_Recycled_Water_Go.html.
68. ↑ See Egerton op cit
69. ↑ 69.0 69.1 69.2 69.3 "toilet, n.", Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford: Oxford University Press .
70. ↑ Egerton, Judy (1998), "The British School", National Gallery Catalogues, New Series, p. 167, ISBN 1-85709-170-1 .
71. ↑ Pope, Alexander (1717), The Rape of the Lock .
72. ↑ See, e.g., the description of the Hogarth painting "The Toilette" from his Marriage à-la-mode series in Egerton[70] or the extensive discussion of a lady's toilet in Pope.[71]
73. ↑ Bell, Vicars Walker (1953) (in en). On Learning the English Tongue. Faber & Faber. https://books.google.com/books?id=1-8WAAAAIAAJ&q=toilet.
74. ↑ Alison Moore, Colonial Visions of 'Third World' Toilets: A Nineteenth-Century Discourse That Haunts Contemporary Tourism. In Olga Gershenson and Barbara Penner (eds.), Ladies and Gents: Public Toilets and Gender (Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 2009), 97–113.
75. ↑ Anderson, Warwick (2010). "Crap on the map, or postcolonial waste" (in en). Postcolonial Studies 13 (2): 169–178. doi:10.1080/13688790.2010.496436. ISSN 1368-8790.
76. ↑ "BBC h2g2". 10 December 2004. https://h2g2.com/edited_entry/A3225106.
77. ↑ "Toilet Inspector". http://www.toiletinspector.com/index.asp?pgid=166.
78. ↑ 78.0 78.1 "loo, n.⁴", Oxford English Dictionary .
79. ↑ Ross, Alan S.C. (October 1974), Blackwood's Magazine, pp. 309–316 .
80. ↑ Ross, Alan S.C. (1954), "Linguistic Class-Indicators in Present-Day English", Neuphilologische Mitteilungen, 55, Helsinki, pp. 113–149 .
81. ↑ Ashenburg, Katherine (2008). The dirt on clean : an unsanitized history (First ed.). New York. pp. 138. ISBN 978-1-4668-6776-5. OCLC 876714657.
82. ↑ Harper, Douglas. "loo". Online Etymology Dictionary. https://www.etymonline.com/?term=loo. .
83. ↑ "Why do they call it the loo?", Kottke, 16 February 2005, http://kottke.org/05/02/loo-etymology, retrieved 1 August 2015 .
84. ↑ Poláček, Muzeumnocniku. cz. "Chamber Pots". http://www.muzeumnocniku.cz/en/collection/chamber-pots.

## External links

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* v
* t
* e

Toilets

Equipment|

* Automatic toilet paper dispenser
* Ballcock
* Bedpan
* Bidet
* Bidet shower
* Brush
* Cistern
* Commode
* Electronic bidet
* Flushometer
* Roll holder
* Seat
* Seat cover
* Self-cleaning toilet seat
* Toilet
* Toilet paper
* Trap (U-bend)

Types|

* Aircraft
* Arborloo
* Blair
* Bucket
* Cathole
* Chemical
* Composting
* Container-based
* Dry
* Dual flush
* Electronic toilet
* Flush
* Freezing
* Head (boat)
* Hudo (Scouting)
* Incinerating
* Intelligent
* Latrine
* Low-flush
* On-board
* Passenger train
* Pay
* Pit
* Pig
* Portable
* Potty
* Public
* Sanisette (self-cleaning)
* Space
* Squat
* Treebog
* Urine-diverting dry
* Vacuum
* Washlet (combined toilet and bidet)

Cultural and policy aspects|

* Accessible
* Adult diaper
* Bathroom privileges
* Honeywagon (vehicle)
* Incontinence pad
* Islamic toilet etiquette
* Istinja
* Latrinalia
* Privatization of public toilets
* Swachh Bharat Mission
* Toilet god
* Toilet humour
* Toilet paper orientation
* Toilet plume
* Toilet-related injuries and deaths
* Toilet Revolution in China
* Toilet training
* Toilet Twinning
* Unisex public
* Vacuum truck

Jobs and activities|

* Manual scavenging
* Sanitation worker
* Slopping out
* Toileting
* Toilet training
* Restroom attendant

Urine-related aspects|

* Female urinal
* Female urination device
* Interactive urinal
* Pissoir
* Pollee
* Sanistand
* Urination
* Urinal
* Urinal (health care)
* Urine collection device
* Urine diversion

Feces-related aspects|

* Anal hygiene
* Defecation
* Defecation postures
* Fecal sludge management
* Flying toilet
* Open defecation
* Scatology

Places|

* Hundertwasser Toilets
* Modern Toilet Restaurant
* National Poo Museum
* Outhouse
* Rest area
* Shit Museum
* Sulabh International Museum of Toilets
* Toilet (room)
* Toilets in Japan

Historical terms|

* Aphedron
* Chamber pot
* Close stool
* Dansker
* Garderobe
* Gong farmer
* Groom of the Stool
* Night soil
* Pail closet
* Privy midden
* Reredorter

See also|

* History of water supply and sanitation
* Sanitation
* Sewage treatment
* World Toilet Day

* v
* t
* e

Wastewater

Sources|

* Acid mine drainage
* Ballast water
* Bathroom
* Blackwater (coal)
* Blackwater (waste)
* Boiler blowdown
* Brine
* Combined sewer
* Cooling tower
* Cooling water
* Fecal sludge
* Greywater
* Infiltration/Inflow
* Industrial effluent
* Ion exchange
* Leachate
* Manure
* Papermaking
* Produced water
* Return flow
* Reverse osmosis
* Sanitary sewer
* Septage
* Sewage
* Sewage sludge
* Toilet
* Urban runoff

Quality indicators|

* Adsorbable organic halides
* Biochemical oxygen demand
* Chemical oxygen demand
* Coliform index
* Oxygen saturation
* Heavy metals
* pH
* Salinity
* Temperature
* Total dissolved solids
* Total suspended solids
* Turbidity

Treatment options|

* Activated sludge
* Aerated lagoon
* Agricultural wastewater treatment
* API oil–water separator
* Carbon filtering
* Chlorination
* Clarifier
* Constructed wetland
* Decentralized wastewater system
* Extended aeration
* Facultative lagoon
* Fecal sludge management
* Filtration
* Imhoff tank
* Industrial wastewater treatment
* Ion exchange
* Membrane bioreactor
* Reverse osmosis
* Rotating biological contactor
* Secondary treatment
* Sedimentation
* Septic tank
* Settling basin
* Sewage sludge treatment
* Sewage treatment
* Sewer mining
* Stabilization pond
* Trickling filter
* Ultraviolet germicidal irradiation
* UASB
* Vermifilter
* Wastewater treatment plant

Disposal options|

* Combined sewer
* Evaporation pond
* Groundwater recharge
* Infiltration basin
* Injection well
* Irrigation
* Marine dumping
* Marine outfall
* Reclaimed water
* Sanitary sewer
* Septic drain field
* Sewage farm
* Storm drain
* Surface runoff
* Vacuum sewer

* Category: Sewerage

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