6 Toilets From History, and What They Taught Us

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  • Опубликовано: 19 янв 2025

Комментарии • 1 тыс.

  • @SciShow
    @SciShow  3 года назад +100

    This episode of SciShow is brought to you in partnership with Gates Notes. You can go to www.gatesnotes.com/Development/10-years-of-reinventing-the-toilet to read about the latest innovations in toilets and sanitation, and to learn more about the “Reinvent the Toilet Challenge,” which is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year.

    • @Darth69906
      @Darth69906 3 года назад +3

      Sadly you need to up your game

    • @ChessIsBestWithACupOfScience
      @ChessIsBestWithACupOfScience 3 года назад +1

      @SciShow Can you please shout me out on your next upload?! PLEASE!!! ONE LOVE💓

    • @Darth69906
      @Darth69906 3 года назад

      @@ChessIsBestWithACupOfScience you need to shy away
      …. Waiting for your reeeeesponse bro

    • @Darth69906
      @Darth69906 3 года назад

      @@ChessIsBestWithACupOfScience …. Yee…… ye …. Ye ………. Forget …….!

    • @hansolowe19
      @hansolowe19 3 года назад

      This video was a real stinker.

  • @briangarrow448
    @briangarrow448 3 года назад +1682

    As a retired wastewater treatment plant professional, I thank you for your efforts to educate the public in the importance of sanitary and efficient waste removal and treatment. May I suggest a series on the different types of processes used by modern treatment plants to safely treat municipal wastewater? Possibly include the rise of UV to sanitize wastewater versus older technology of chlorine?

    • @ScumfuckMcDoucheface
      @ScumfuckMcDoucheface 3 года назад +80

      I think that would be a facinating series, great suggestion man

    • @staciderfelt
      @staciderfelt 3 года назад +31

      I would love to learn about these things!!

    • @Sorcerers_Apprentice
      @Sorcerers_Apprentice 3 года назад +35

      There is also reverse osmosis, which can make treated effluent potable again.

    • @kirkw1740
      @kirkw1740 3 года назад +22

      I'd love to see them include the treatment processes we've developed for handling the waste after it's removed in a follow up video to this, with your suggestions, plus the alternatives like septic tanks, weeping beds, organic filtering, bio-digesting brown gas generating systems and dehydrating/composting systems.

    • @HauxYZ250
      @HauxYZ250 3 года назад +26

      I just want a video that convinces people that “flushable” wipes aren’t flushable! (Along with pretty much everything else that’s not TP)

  • @mho...
    @mho... 3 года назад +790

    "Arrid regions like australia?!"
    Here in germany , basically every toilet has the 2 flush choices!--- i even think its a law these days for new ones to have the 2 options!

    • @nevertrusasmurf
      @nevertrusasmurf 3 года назад +80

      Belgium too, never knew it differently

    • @ElizabethDohertyThomas
      @ElizabethDohertyThomas 3 года назад +37

      Not very common yet in America. I think Ikea toilets have it and that is notable. I was in a new hotel recently that has a very unhelpful set of dots with zero information about what they meant.

    • @clogcandy
      @clogcandy 3 года назад +15

      Same in holland, alltough you still find an inspectiontoilet as i call them in older homes

    • @georgplaz
      @georgplaz 3 года назад +18

      In austria too and we have plenty of water coming in from the alps

    • @junrosamura645
      @junrosamura645 3 года назад +26

      Japanese toilets have this as a default option as well.

  • @Birdman32
    @Birdman32 3 года назад +114

    In the days of old, when nights were cold, and toilets weren’t invented, they laid their load, upon the road, and walked away contented

  • @Dragrath1
    @Dragrath1 3 года назад +266

    Those Medieval toilets there... honestly sound like steps backwards from some of the earlier ones yikes.
    Also the roman toilets must have been horrific for whoever had to clean out those blockages... I presume that was slaves? That sounds like something they would make slaves do....

    • @dorabrooks76
      @dorabrooks76 3 года назад +73

      Yeah, probably slaves. 😖 I wish Hank had mentioned that the public Roman bathrooms weren't very sanitary, either. There was usually only a limited number of tersoriums (natural sponge attached to a stick) for wiping- which was shared by all comers. It was simply rinsed in between users either in plain water (running through the pipes), or in a bucket of vinegar or salt water. 🤢

    • @JimmyMon666
      @JimmyMon666 3 года назад +18

      and he didn't even mention what they used for toilet paper. You don't want to know. If you do want to know, I believe History Guy covered it last year.

    • @stoodmuffinpersonal3144
      @stoodmuffinpersonal3144 3 года назад +8

      I thought stuff like this was a very modern invention, but I was incorrect 🤷🏻‍♀️

    • @lordgarion514
      @lordgarion514 3 года назад +22

      Blockages are still cleared by hand in places. The lowest class of people have to do it.

    • @nathanberrigan9839
      @nathanberrigan9839 3 года назад +21

      @@lordgarion514 They're still cleaned by hand in the US. But those people are paid well.

  • @shadycactus6146
    @shadycactus6146 3 года назад +298

    1:29 i know i’ve been watching too much eons when i hear “fourth millennium bce” and think “god, that’s so recent”

    • @adityamohan1773
      @adityamohan1773 3 года назад +11

      U ain't alone lad haha.

    • @gus-vanover
      @gus-vanover 3 года назад +3

      Mood

    • @AskMia411
      @AskMia411 3 года назад +3

      Saaaaaaame!

    • @naufalap
      @naufalap 3 года назад

      well albedo is ancient after all

    • @mayoite160
      @mayoite160 3 года назад +5

      palaeontologists tell historians "that's cute" - who hear it from geologists - who hear it from cosmologists

  • @Not-an-Alien
    @Not-an-Alien 3 года назад +24

    I would just like to take this moment to acknowledge my gratitude for living in a time where I don't have to worry or even think about where my poop goes.

    • @veramae4098
      @veramae4098 3 года назад

      Country folk still have to think about it. Had to replace the 80 year old septic tank in the house I inherited, it was interesting to watch the new one put in, and even before construction they had to submit plan to local Health Dept. for approval.
      Still, many, many old houses are still using primitive methods. My aunt and uncle's drain simply led to the roadside ditch. (Cousin who inherited the house and farm put in a septic tank). A friend of mine finally had to replace her "system" which was simply two big steel barrels underground, punched full of holes, filled with large rocks.
      The old systems were "grandfathered" in with the then new sanitation laws, so many still exist and are in use.
      Ugh.

    • @mahnas92
      @mahnas92 3 года назад +1

      But... this video is sponsored by the Gates Notes, an organisation that works with sanitation issues for many places arround the world, mostly in developing countries and rural places, to bring the modern toilet to more people, so you're not living in a TIME where you don't have to worry, but in a PLACE in the world where you don't have to think about it a whole lot of people still do need to think about it!

    • @Not-an-Alien
      @Not-an-Alien 3 года назад

      @@veramae4098 why?

    • @Not-an-Alien
      @Not-an-Alien 3 года назад +1

      @@mahnas92 I said what I meant, and I meant what I said. I that's right "I" live in a TIME where I don't have to think about where my poop goes. Preach your self righteous humanitarianism to someone who cares.

  • @than217
    @than217 3 года назад +249

    4/5 of Mesopotamians: "So you're telling me to just TRUST everyone else not to steal my poop while I store it in some distant cesspit? I think I'll store my poop at home, thank you very much!"

    • @elihinze3161
      @elihinze3161 3 года назад +4

      i am SCREAMING

    • @injunsun
      @injunsun 3 года назад +20

      Tbf, they did use it as fertilser, so it did have some value.

    • @smssalina
      @smssalina 3 года назад +3

      They are stealing your little smelling babies.

    • @DiscoChixify
      @DiscoChixify 3 года назад +5

      Lol in some countries they actually sold their poop to farmers for them to make fertilizer to grow food crops. It’s called night soil. And yes, there were poop thieves who stole poop.

    • @nunyabiznes33
      @nunyabiznes33 3 года назад +3

      The Japanese cityfolks be like: "You give away your poop for free? That's stoopid!"

  • @ethan-loves
    @ethan-loves 3 года назад +77

    I find learning about the history and science of sanitation/hygiene so fascinating. Thank you for this video! I would adore a similar video on historical bathing tools.

  • @TheSuzberry
    @TheSuzberry 3 года назад +99

    If you have a toilet you use Very infrequently, flush it once in a while. The water in your S bend might evaporate and cease to stop the gasses from coming into the WC.

    • @kneau
      @kneau 3 года назад +19

      I absolutely have a second toilet in this house that... I really cannot remember when it was last used. I know I cleaned it really well back in 2017... hmm. While I cannot presume you're here to advise me, I at least appreciate now knowing I may want to check on things.

    • @michagrill9432
      @michagrill9432 3 года назад +2

      😬🤢🤮

    • @rydaddy2867
      @rydaddy2867 3 года назад +10

      Same thing goes for floor drains and sinks that don't see a lot of use. And floor drains can evaporate even faster due to having no lid to slow it down, but still being a large diameter pipe.
      A little bit of cooking oil slowly down the drain can significantly slow the evaporation in infrequently used water drains. :)

    • @kaypgirl
      @kaypgirl 3 года назад +7

      I have a work location with way too many floor drains, and boy do they smell if no one remembers to put water down them once a week.

  • @twocvbloke
    @twocvbloke 3 года назад +25

    Here in the UK, we have the 2-button thrones too, and we're not exactly arid, plus the low-volume flush is creating a big problem of not having enough water in the waste, meaning it's more of a slow-moving sludge, which blocks up our aging sewers that rarely see any upgrade work...

    • @minerblake7494
      @minerblake7494 3 года назад +2

      Try number 1 in the shower,save #2 for the big flush

    • @melethalewis9315
      @melethalewis9315 3 года назад +1

      I think you need to catch up with the times when you're going in the future. But it can't always be good when your town doesn't catch up with the rest of the world.😨😨 So try to think about it when they're ready to do it.😍😍

    • @thekingoffailure9967
      @thekingoffailure9967 3 месяца назад

      @@minerblake7494I sure hope you pee more frequently than once a day, or dont shower multiple times a day

  • @zenebean
    @zenebean 3 года назад +436

    If there is one thing that keeps me happy with the time I exist in spite of the pollution, climate change, and mass extinction, it is that I live with indoor plumbing
    Edit: human history is a long, steady degredation of our environment from ignorance, and it is good to look at how much more we know now. If we can bend some stubborn necks, we even know how to stop the downspiral. We might have clean skies to go with our clean water

    • @paganlecter6819
      @paganlecter6819 3 года назад +22

      Electricity is another big one too

    • @paulawolanski3237
      @paulawolanski3237 3 года назад +24

      I would gladly pee and poop under a bush for the rest of my life if it meant that the tragic problems you just listed would somehow magically go away.

    • @dailytransparencywithcovid4666
      @dailytransparencywithcovid4666 3 года назад +2

      @@paulawolanski3237 second that

    • @grejen711
      @grejen711 3 года назад +7

      Modern Dentistry is pretty damn nice!

    • @eileennovak1656
      @eileennovak1656 3 года назад

      @@paulawolanski3237 💐👍💟

  • @ptolemycleopatra
    @ptolemycleopatra 3 года назад +19

    My bucket list included seeing Roman toilets for ages... I finally saw some this summer!

    • @atomic_wait
      @atomic_wait 3 года назад

      I remember when the King Tut exhibit came to my city they had an ancient Egyptian stone toilet seat. Looked just like a modern one, just thicker and made of sandstone. Some things never change.

    • @glasshalffull8625
      @glasshalffull8625 3 года назад +1

      What a coincidence! I know live aboard boaters that use a bucket as a toilet! 😂

    • @Pussmash
      @Pussmash 3 года назад +1

      @@atomic_wait well things have changed. We have bidets now. Anyone still using paper are just living under a rock or super lazy.

  • @ragnkja
    @ragnkja 3 года назад +41

    The toilet-room of a medieval castle was called a “garderobe”, and yes, that is where we get the word “wardrobe”, because of the clothes being kept there.

    • @AntediluvianRomance
      @AntediluvianRomance 3 года назад +5

      And the French toilette and its loans in some other languages preserved both meanings.

    • @ilkyway5854
      @ilkyway5854 3 года назад +5

      The German word for wardrobe is Garderobe.

    • @ragnkja
      @ragnkja 3 года назад +3

      @@ilkyway5854
      And also in Norwegian.

    • @timofeypetrenko2264
      @timofeypetrenko2264 3 года назад +2

      @@ilkyway5854 Same here in Russia.

  • @MajoraZ
    @MajoraZ 3 года назад +76

    As somebody who does content on Mesoamerican history, I wanna clarify some stuff about Palenque's toilets and talk about other Mesoamerican sites that had them. Firstly, i've looked into Palenque's waterworks systems before, it should be noted that while there are what appears to be toilets at Palenque, as far as i'm aware there's no evidence that those toilets themselves were part of the pressurized channel that was found at the site, which from the papers I've read seems to have been in place to create a upwards fountain/spout, though maybe i'm unaware of newer research. I will say Palenque in general had very complex waterworks systems,, the site had dozens of springs in or around the city which coalesced into many streams and rivers which ran through it, so the city had dozens of open air and underground aqueducts, drainage systems, dams, reservoirs, etc to deal with that.
    As far as other other Mesoamerican cities with toilets, Teotihuacan seems to have had some: Teotihuacan was a major Metropolis in Central Mexico during the Classical period, and at it's height around 500AD, had 100,000+ denizens, had a planned urban grid covering almost 2 dozen square kilometers of fancy temples and palaces with painted frescos, dozens of rooms and open air courtyards, which even most of the city's commoners lived in. Some these palace compounds had plumbing and channel systems, and what seem to pretty clearly resemble toilets, though in conversations I've had with researchers who have worked at the site, excavations haven't yielded connections to other plumbing systems in the city, which is odd since in photos of the toilets there are what appear to be channels attached to them.
    It's also known that the Aztec captial of Tenochtitlan had public latrines/toilets alongside major roads, and that there civil servants who washed and swept streets and buildings and collected waste from these toilets (allegedly on a daily basis), and that waste was then recycled into dyes and fertilizer.

    • @eileennovak1656
      @eileennovak1656 3 года назад +8

      🧠 interesting ty 💟

    • @OleanderSmoothie
      @OleanderSmoothie 3 года назад +8

      Teotihuacan sounds amazing and beautiful! I wish I could travel back in time to see it!

    • @Catlily5
      @Catlily5 3 года назад +7

      @@OleanderSmoothie Teotihuacan is cool even now. Though it would be something to see it all painted.

    • @veramae4098
      @veramae4098 3 года назад +4

      Under Elizabeth I in England she had a great Chancellor, who was then also her bookkeeper and he kept meticulous records. People who would clean sewage off the streets of London were well paid, but there were never enough.
      Street cleaners could then sell the sewage to farmers, just bonus income.
      This was the original London, now often referred to as "the City", very small in comparison to modern London.
      I'm surprised he didn't mention London's huge sewer system, installed under Queen Victoria. It was and is a *phenomena*, most of it still is use as built. However, originally it just dumped into the Thames River far downstream. Now, modern sewage treatment plants are in place. ... Before its dumped into the Thames.
      There were still problems. Prince Albert her Consort, reportedly died of typhoid (which modern scholars are rather dubious about but [shrug]) from old leaky pipes under the Palace.

    • @nunyabiznes33
      @nunyabiznes33 3 года назад +1

      What dyes were they making from their poops?
      Also isn't Teotihuacan already abandoned when they were building Tenoctitlan? Did it still somehow managed to teach the other peoples on building?

  • @patbates13
    @patbates13 3 года назад +16

    The underground prehistoric village of Scara Brae had toilets with running water feed from underground springs to clear waste. At 6000 years old I think it is one of the oldest toilets.

  • @briangarrow448
    @briangarrow448 3 года назад +25

    I just installed a bidet into my bathroom! Ever since the Great Toilet Paper Shortage of 2020, I have searched for an alternative to T.P. For less than 60$ I bought an attachment that I installed in less than 15 minutes on my standard American style toilet.
    And it WORKS GREAT!
    I highly recommend this inexpensive modification for everyone!

    • @junrosamura645
      @junrosamura645 3 года назад +4

      All Japanese toilets have this. There are even conversion kits available for foreigners to buy once they experience the magic of the bidet.

    • @nobetawedielikemysanity
      @nobetawedielikemysanity 3 года назад +2

      Anyone without a bidet or some kind of water washing method are disgusting.

    • @eileennovak1656
      @eileennovak1656 3 года назад +3

      I've always wondered why America hasn't caught on to the luxury of hygienic bidets; it's the only way to poo.

    • @edwinhuang9244
      @edwinhuang9244 3 года назад +1

      It should be called The Great Panic Buying of Toilet Paper of 2020

    • @scarletletter4900
      @scarletletter4900 3 года назад +1

      @@eileennovak1656 sanitation isn't a luxury.

  • @bendirval3612
    @bendirval3612 3 года назад +33

    I like toilets that have a little sink built in to them so you wash your hands and the waste water fills the tank.

    • @exogator
      @exogator 3 года назад +4

      Popular in Japan I think, should be everywhere honestly

    • @alisoncircus
      @alisoncircus 3 года назад +6

      @@exogator Japanese toilets should be everywhere anyway. They understand that humans don't need to be treated inhumanely while engaged in necessary functions.

  • @applegal3058
    @applegal3058 3 года назад +12

    My grandparents had a stage (a fishing storage she'd built at the edge of the ocean with a deck built extending into the harbour. Inside the stage was a toilet seat placed on an elevated platform. Below was the open air and sea rocks. You do your business, and it was taken out with the tide. Not such a big deal in smaller communities, but would cause a major pollution problem in larger cities for sure. I have fond memories of being outside playing, and running in the stage to go to the washroom...You could feel the cool sea air against your butt lol

    • @ScumfuckMcDoucheface
      @ScumfuckMcDoucheface 3 года назад

      there's something extremly liberating, exhilarating and comforting about the thought of cool sea air caressing your nethers as you go haha I've often thought the same about the old castle thrones that were open to the air as well, 80' up, hung out from the top of a wall or spire =)

  • @DomyTheMad420
    @DomyTheMad420 3 года назад +15

    "some arid places have a nr1 and nr2 button"
    mate.. i've been over half of Europe. I only ever NOT see it in houses owned by the retired folks.
    "why waste 10% of our water bill when this one cheap button can save it?" seems like a no-brainer for most western people it seems. >.>

    • @jblyon2
      @jblyon2 3 года назад +1

      Water here is cheap compared to most of Europe. I pay less than $15/month where I live, and it's an expensive area. People only really start caring because once the sewage treatment plants for your area get upgraded to modern standards the sewage bills roughly triple. Since sewage bills are based on water usage people suddenly start caring.
      Also, a lot of people in rural areas have plentiful well water and septic systems, so they don't really care how much water gets used. Plus any excess usage just filters back into the ground from the septic system. My parents have no reason to care that their old toilets use 3.5 gallons/flush. It comes out of the ground in the back yard, gets treated naturally by bacteria in the septic system, and seeps back into the ground in the front yard.

  • @chrisboucher1987
    @chrisboucher1987 3 года назад +1

    This is an amazing video. Thank you everyone at SciShow!

  • @billcar6805
    @billcar6805 3 года назад +34

    When will a non-stick toliet bowl be mandatory? I am sick of seeing the bowl looking like someone has just finished 'tokyo drifting' all over it.... Damn skid marks...

    • @silverXnoise
      @silverXnoise 3 года назад +3

      Increase your fiber intake bro. 🥦🥬🥒🥕🌵🕷🦟🐒

    • @Godfirst986
      @Godfirst986 3 года назад +1

      How about you flush immediately after you drop? It won't stick. That's what I do.

    • @billcar6805
      @billcar6805 3 года назад +3

      @@Godfirst986 But then i can't show anyone.....

    • @Godfirst986
      @Godfirst986 3 года назад

      @@billcar6805 huh

    • @ProctorsGamble
      @ProctorsGamble 3 года назад

      Bill. I have one. It stays clean at least 5x longer

  •  3 года назад +14

    I got such a kick out of watching this guy's facial expressions while he fought back giggles as I imagined how many takes he wrecked with laughter 🤣

  • @tiaxanderson9725
    @tiaxanderson9725 3 года назад +19

    Wait wait wait, is the USA behind on this? Dual-flush toilets must've been around for 40 or 50 years in the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, and France at least. I recall seeing them in all of these countries and they weren't brand new toilets...
    Heck, in Japan, where you can still find those crouch toilets they literally have buttons or levers with 大 (big) and 小 (small).

    • @NapaCat
      @NapaCat 3 года назад +4

      'MURICA!!!!!!' is behind on a lot.

    • @isabellayoung3129
      @isabellayoung3129 3 года назад

      The "new" toilets that we have are tankless high-velocity toilets.

    • @spangelicious837
      @spangelicious837 3 года назад

      My brother has one in his house but I had no idea why there were two buttons until now. I still have no idea which button is which. They should put the number on the button.

  • @marissasoto6696
    @marissasoto6696 3 года назад +8

    Ayyyy! My state! I never hear about Chiapas anywhere! Yes PALENQUE is the best, my Mayan heritage is why I got interested in science as a kid.

  • @renchesandsords
    @renchesandsords 3 года назад +60

    "Cholera Outbreaks" the chorus of history

    • @WolfgangDoW
      @WolfgangDoW 3 года назад

      Smallpox

    • @minerdalta
      @minerdalta 3 года назад

      have you two friendly gentlemen ever heard of our terrible nemesis, yersinia pestis?

  • @cavelord4766
    @cavelord4766 3 года назад +4

    actually decreasing pipe diameter in the direction of flow decreases pressure but increases velocity. The Venturi effect.

  • @christinafidance340
    @christinafidance340 3 года назад +114

    So I guess the Romans never heard the saying “Don’t sh!t where you eat”???

    • @kneau
      @kneau 3 года назад +23

      Perhaps we have the Romans to thank for this wisdom?

    • @WanderTheNomad
      @WanderTheNomad 3 года назад +11

      @@kneau Their hindsight was our foresight

    • @sudazima
      @sudazima 3 года назад +3

      they did, the cloaca maxima is the oldest sewer still in use in fact. they had public toilets with continous streaming water from aquaducts, somehow this wasnt mentioned

    • @BeckBeckGo
      @BeckBeckGo 3 года назад +8

      Rofl I love how videos like this really expose people who haven’t lived in an apartment before. “Omg the bathroom was next to the kitchen back then??”
      Dude. I have four rooms. Everything is next to everything right now.

    • @Tht1Gy
      @Tht1Gy 3 года назад

      @@BeckBeckGo with walls between them...

  • @Ice_Karma
    @Ice_Karma 3 года назад +13

    9:43 When I first moved to New Zealand in mid-1992, the first time I went to use the toilet I was confronted with a dual-flush model, which looked nothing like I had seen before... I actually had to ask for help to flush it... and honestly I wish dual-flush toilets were a bigger deal here in North America, instead of low-flow toilets!

    • @cloudpoint0
      @cloudpoint0 3 года назад +1

      Some toilets have dual flush but have one handle as always - press the handle half way down for a small flush and fully down for the regular full flush. You don’t need a whole new toilet either, just a part replacement.
      ruclips.net/video/juWZS-La_vo/видео.html

    • @TheScarvig
      @TheScarvig 3 года назад

      @@cloudpoint0 depending on the style of the flush mechanism you can even interrupt a flush manually by pulling the handle back up

    • @morfy2581
      @morfy2581 3 года назад +1

      To me its a weird though not having dual flush cause thats normal to me, I was very confused when in the video he talked about it as if its something special.

    • @lilaclizard4504
      @lilaclizard4504 3 года назад +1

      ok, I am seriously curious as to what that duel flush model looked like that you needed help as opposed to just pressing one button after the other to learn what they did. I used to work in childcare & that's what the toddlers would do, don't know if anyone ever taught them how the system worked or if they just figured it out as a natural part of play & exploring their world

    • @Ice_Karma
      @Ice_Karma 3 года назад +1

      @@lilaclizard4504 Nothing terribly unusual, as far as dual-flush models go. I'd just never seen one before, and it didn't help I'd been awake for 36 hours.

  • @TheColdestWater
    @TheColdestWater 3 года назад +21

    Conclusion...Invention of toilets is something that saved most of the humanity today :D

    • @TheRepublicOfJohn
      @TheRepublicOfJohn 3 года назад +6

      I think human history shows that some of our most unique and technologically sophisticated differences from other Great Apes have to do with our aversion to poop - secluded or separated places for defecating, wearing underpants, the use of flowing water for performing mechanical work, the use of channels and pipes for confining the flow of liquids (and suspended solids), the invention of soap...

    • @TheColdestWater
      @TheColdestWater 3 года назад +7

      @@TheRepublicOfJohn True....these inventions often go unsung but play the top role in our lives! :)

    • @briangarrow448
      @briangarrow448 3 года назад +5

      As a retired wastewater treatment plant professional, I approve of this message!

    • @XSR_RUGGER
      @XSR_RUGGER 3 года назад +3

      @@TheColdestWater as a plumber I frequently say, "Not all heroes wear capes."

  • @madamsuna6434
    @madamsuna6434 3 года назад +12

    Fun fact Chepstow castle also has a toilet that literally lets your poop fall off a cliff into the river below. It is really nerve racking sitting on that thrown knowing your derrière is very close to a dangerous end. It’s also a little windy and cold most days 🤣

    • @libbybollinger5901
      @libbybollinger5901 3 года назад +4

      @@louisfalcone5494 …okay?

    • @gabor6259
      @gabor6259 3 года назад

      So how much do I have to pay to try it?

    • @madamsuna6434
      @madamsuna6434 3 года назад +2

      @@gabor6259 £4 and a sneaky plop

  • @SaraKin123
    @SaraKin123 3 года назад

    This channel is pure awesomeness !!!

  • @CallMe_Mr.Rhythm
    @CallMe_Mr.Rhythm 3 года назад +8

    I've been watching SciShow and PBS Eons for years but it's just today that I noticed that Hank also hosts PBS Eons.

    • @radagastwiz
      @radagastwiz 3 года назад

      Only in the earlier seasons! For a while it's been only Blake and Kallie, and they've just added Michelle. But both shows are made by Complexly (of which Hank is CEO).

    • @gabor6259
      @gabor6259 3 года назад

      Hank also hosts Scishow Space and Scishow Psych sometimes.

  • @MR-intel
    @MR-intel 3 года назад +1

    There are interesting ancient toilets in Tintagel (Devon, UK). People apparently socialised in an open room, pooping and chatting. The poop fell straight into the ocean, next to "Merlin's Cave".
    The same method, but with privacy, was used in a high Alpine hut not long ago, where my poop dropped onto the glacier below. It'll remain deep frozen for about another 100 years.

  • @kamoogy
    @kamoogy 3 года назад +18

    I may come back to this. I can't watch and eat my pizza at the same time.

  • @ronmaximilian6953
    @ronmaximilian6953 3 года назад +7

    What a wonderful topic for my daily visit to the throne.

  • @rillloudmother
    @rillloudmother 3 года назад +7

    I must say again, I love the use of B.C.E.

  • @WolfgangDoW
    @WolfgangDoW 3 года назад +1

    No mention of composting toilets and how they are water free, disease free, fly free, and turn waste into compost which reduces reliance on industrial fertilisers?
    Many countries use them now and they're amazing. All you need is a bucket, saw dust, and outside compost pile where you add green plant waste too. Fill for a year, let it settle for a year (it will cook all pathogens out while it ferments) then it's ready to use

  • @unicorn.mushroom
    @unicorn.mushroom 3 года назад +12

    Bidets! They are amazing! I love that I can always have a shower clean tush without the shower... plus use a lot less toilet paper 🎉

    • @KOZMOuvBORG
      @KOZMOuvBORG 3 года назад +1

      Haven't the Japanese developed a toilet that works much like a no-touch car wash under the seat?

    • @bland9876
      @bland9876 3 года назад +2

      I can't tell if we're trying to conserve water or conserve toilet paper which is better?

    • @KOZMOuvBORG
      @KOZMOuvBORG 3 года назад +2

      ​@@bland9876 Similar debate with disposable or washable diapers, if you have an ample water supply (and treatment?) go for the latter. Don't need trees for asswipe, hemp and other fibers (bamboo? used for some underwear) can be used.

    • @k.b.peterson8022
      @k.b.peterson8022 3 года назад

      @@bland9876 well, reverse osmosis exists and we have other plentiful supplies of water, people are just too dumb to use them, so I don't think water conservation is it the top of the list.

    • @veramae4098
      @veramae4098 3 года назад +1

      @@k.b.peterson8022 Your comment is only one day old. I was shocked. Haven't you heard about the droughts in many parts of the world???? And they're probably here to stay and will get worse with Climate Change.

  • @nooneinparticular469
    @nooneinparticular469 3 года назад

    I am an absolute fanatic about human waste management. I got my civil engineering degree and the volunteered abroad in the Pan African Republic teaching about how to build and use toilets and employing native construction workers to build safe latrines. I had a poster of Joseph Bazalgette on my wall in high school. I joined Engineers without Borders as soon as I was eligible.
    Thank you for sharing this information. Talking about toilets makes some people uncomfortable, but it’s an important conversation to have. People are dying every day of completely preventable diseases because we feel a bit awkward addressing the issue of toilet accessibility in developing nations.

  • @rhynhardtk
    @rhynhardtk 3 года назад +9

    09:45 We've had those number-one/number-two toilets in South Africa for what feels like twenty years.

  • @meld_maker
    @meld_maker 3 года назад

    Such a cool video! I interned with an organisation working on the Reinvent The Toilet Challenge a few years ago, and in just a few months I will be graduating from uni (with a degree in process engineering) and starting a job as a water treatment engineer!

  • @nightangeldk8967
    @nightangeldk8967 3 года назад +21

    Hank telling facts about toilets, my brain "wait that rat in the chamber pot was a gerbil"

    • @Tht1Gy
      @Tht1Gy 3 года назад

      Well, gerbils and hamsters are better suited for... Wait, that's something else... *smirk*

  • @alphacide_2857
    @alphacide_2857 3 года назад +1

    Centuries of development to make one of the greatest tools in a human's arsenal. True science.

    • @alphacide_2857
      @alphacide_2857 3 года назад

      @whizmo2010 lmao didn't think about that

  • @mephistoxic3900
    @mephistoxic3900 3 года назад +3

    Finally! Been wonder when sci show would do an episode on toilet history.

  • @truthalwayswinss
    @truthalwayswinss 9 месяцев назад

    Excellent Information with clear explanation. ❤

  • @boboblacksheep5003
    @boboblacksheep5003 3 года назад +3

    Perfect thing to watch in the toilet.

    • @morfy2581
      @morfy2581 3 года назад

      *on the toilet, unless you are literally INSIDE the toilet which doesnt sound healthy.

  • @jonmantooth9478
    @jonmantooth9478 3 года назад +18

    I never knew that was a number 1 and 2 setting. I thought it was just fun to choose both.

    • @morfy2581
      @morfy2581 3 года назад +2

      seriously?

    • @lilaclizard4504
      @lilaclizard4504 3 года назад

      @@morfy2581 seconded!

    • @morfy2581
      @morfy2581 3 года назад

      @@lilaclizard4504 what?

    • @lilaclizard4504
      @lilaclizard4504 3 года назад

      @@morfy2581 um I agree with you. You've never heard that term before? Someone passes a motion & another person "seconds" it

    • @morfy2581
      @morfy2581 3 года назад

      @@lilaclizard4504 good to know

  • @RoadFai
    @RoadFai 3 года назад +7

    Hank seems struggling a little in his presentation. He's still my favourite presenter. Appreciate the entire Scishow team, love you folks lots.

  • @grosstravis
    @grosstravis 3 года назад

    I like the length of these videos and the interesting topics

  • @SKO49
    @SKO49 3 года назад +5

    Knossos, the capital city of the Minoan civilisation is actually pronounced in Greek with the “k” as in Greek there are no silent letters like the k before the n in English!
    Keep up the good work

    • @Danny_Boel
      @Danny_Boel 3 года назад

      indeed, The English language wasn't a thing in the Bronze age

  • @samehedi
    @samehedi 3 года назад +2

    i really enjoy those behind everyday-life episodes

  • @Ponderer_-vk3cz
    @Ponderer_-vk3cz 3 года назад +4

    Could you make a video on how squatting while defacating is more healthy than just sitting normally?

  • @The_Cyber_System
    @The_Cyber_System 3 года назад

    Excellent innovations!

  • @akumaking1
    @akumaking1 3 года назад +26

    There’s also been bathroom graffiti since Ancient Rome at least.

    • @mho...
      @mho... 3 года назад +2

      the greatest archivement since the toilet!

    • @tomtheplummer7322
      @tomtheplummer7322 3 года назад +12

      For a good time call V V V- I II I III I V😏🤷‍♂️

    • @JimmyMon666
      @JimmyMon666 3 года назад

      @@tomtheplummer7322 Now I know what song is going to be stuck in my head all night. 8675309 or that would be VIII VI VII V III ? IX. Damn Romans and their lack of a 0. No wonder their empire fell.

    • @bazza945
      @bazza945 3 года назад

      Kilroy's still lingers here.

    • @cancel.lgbtq.6892
      @cancel.lgbtq.6892 3 года назад

      @@tomtheplummer7322 hahahaha !!!!

  • @pattiwicksteed3731
    @pattiwicksteed3731 3 года назад

    I grew up in Bath - the site of the Roman Bath in your illustration. We were taught that it had one of the earliest self-flushing toilets (more like a urinal but whatever). As I recall it was a stone bucket trickle fed with water and carefully balanced so that when it was full the bucket tipped forward sending the water to wash away whatever was in the chute below it. :D

  • @sueg2658
    @sueg2658 3 года назад +4

    Very interesting. Please address the composting toilets that many people who live off grid use. Thanks Hank.

  • @DiscoChixify
    @DiscoChixify 3 года назад

    Some people are reinventing waste management in their homes by using or creating special toilets that separate the liquid waste from the solid waste, allowing you to process them into night soil and liquid fertilizer. The solids age for up to a year in a closed container before being added to a compost pile and then after composting they’re added to the garden to grow food. Composting can happen from weeks to months and a healthy compost pile can get to 160 F to kill pathogens and unwanted seeds. In some cases it takes a year for compost to become finished compost, so this process from start to finish could take 2 years to turn poop into garden ready fertilizer.

  • @Chimera6297
    @Chimera6297 3 года назад +4

    1970: I bet they will have flying cars in the future
    2021: we have perfected the toilet

  • @AFlyingCookieLOL
    @AFlyingCookieLOL 3 года назад +1

    Perfect video to watch while having lunch!

  • @SytRReD
    @SytRReD 3 года назад +8

    It's funny how you mentioned two-level flush at the end like it's an innovation, where I live (France) it's the standard since at least 10 or 15 years I think, and I even wonder if it's not mandatory if you set up a new flush! I love seeing little cultural differences such as this :)

    • @kenbrown2808
      @kenbrown2808 3 года назад

      here, separate buttons are only around a decade or so old, but two level flushes have been around since the turn of the century.

    • @JimmyMon666
      @JimmyMon666 3 года назад

      Amazingly where I live (Las Vegas) this is nowhere to be seen. But we also recycle all of our wastewater and put it back into the lake.

    • @9SMTM6
      @9SMTM6 3 года назад +1

      @@JimmyMon666 We usually don't put it into lakes, especially not "back into", instead we put it in our rivers, but in Europe full water recycling is also standard.
      All of these ecological things are pretty much standard in middle Europe. Not always certain on the reason, but we do have less abundant natural resources compared to population, and we do have EU rules.

    • @HweolRidda
      @HweolRidda 3 года назад +2

      @@JimmyMon666 "back" into the lake? I am pretty sure most (90+%?) of the water is being sucked out of aquifiers, not taken out of lakes. Las Vegas possibly wastes more non-renewable resouces per capita than other any city in the world.

    • @JimmyMon666
      @JimmyMon666 3 года назад

      @@HweolRidda No we don't suck that much out of aquifers. 90% of our water does come from the river (by way of the lake/reservoir). We do suck some out of the ground, if we don't, it will come up naturally, sometimes in casino basements. We actually "store" water underground and rely almost exclusively on the river. 90% to be exact. As for waste, I'm sure there's a lot by the casinos and hotels. Not to mention the rich people here. We had a recent listing of the top 150 water users, mostly rich hotel owners, boxers, musicians such as the Fiver Finger Death Punch singer, etc. The rich may waste water, but the poor do not. And soon the city will ban all non functional grass.

  • @sandralane1923
    @sandralane1923 3 года назад

    Love learning from your show.

  • @kaihtheloner
    @kaihtheloner 3 года назад +3

    Interesting video to come across as I’m having my coffee. The Nutella now reminds me of something, but I’ll try to stomach it.

  • @theexchipmunk
    @theexchipmunk 3 года назад

    As a German I can tell you, the small and big flush is a thing in most of Central Europe. In Germany only very old toilets or those that get used A LOT still feature a "one size fits all" flush.

  • @timypp2894
    @timypp2894 3 года назад +3

    You poop into your castle moat where it also had another benefit - it fed your carps fish (which you eat when they are fatten). Not a joke, it's a real thing in those days.

  • @RuwinduGunatilake
    @RuwinduGunatilake 3 года назад

    The technical comparison of various types of toilets is the real game of thrones I wanna be watching.

  • @juniormynos9457
    @juniormynos9457 3 года назад +7

    I thought this video was gonna end with the toilets in space.

  • @kristinahildebrand4015
    @kristinahildebrand4015 3 года назад

    Mount Grace Abbey had water closets and pipes with drinking water in the 15th century - the water for toilets and for drinking were not only kept in separate systems but came, IIRC, from different springs.

  • @johnnyli4702
    @johnnyli4702 3 года назад +6

    I thought there would be some mention of composting and incinerating toilets at the end...

  • @kirkmorrison6131
    @kirkmorrison6131 3 года назад

    I have a lot of people in my family who worked in water as did I some in Wastewater. I thank you for doing your part to kill the Ed Norton stereotype.

  • @saravanroosbroeck5414
    @saravanroosbroeck5414 3 года назад +3

    The amount of real pictures of old toilets was disappointing. They didn't even include the thumbnail!

  • @rcrawford42
    @rcrawford42 3 года назад +1

    The Romans DID have water pressure. They used continuous-flow toilets -- you even use a photo of one as the thumbnail for the video!

  • @debries1553
    @debries1553 3 года назад +3

    I thought the number 1 and number 2 setting is pretty ubiquitous on any semi-modern toilet? I mean, I live in a place with a relative abundance of water yet most toilets either have distinct nr 1 and nr 2 buttons or allow for control of flush duration.

  • @joeshmoe8345
    @joeshmoe8345 3 года назад

    Excellent post even by scishow standards

  • @stoodmuffinpersonal3144
    @stoodmuffinpersonal3144 3 года назад +3

    We had some of those things, as a species, that long ago?
    That challenges a lot that I thought I knew

    • @morfy2581
      @morfy2581 3 года назад

      Ancient society was much more civil than you would think.

    • @veramae4098
      @veramae4098 3 года назад

      I've started reading about ancient cultures in the Americas. Olmecs invented the "0" "zero", parallel to Middle Eastern cultures of the time. Considered a major event in mathematics. Olmecs were before Mayans.
      The huge problem with early American societies was no bronze age. (Maybe their biggest technological problem.) Bronze is made from copper and tin. Huge deposits of copper, for example, in northern Michigan / Minnesota. Huge deposits of tin in Alaska.
      Hmmm. I see a problem here.

  • @Doctoranthetardis
    @Doctoranthetardis 3 года назад

    The Humanuare handbook is a great take on the idea of toilets and the use of poop.

  • @TylerDickey1
    @TylerDickey1 3 года назад +5

    I’m here so early I don’t know if I’m number 1 or number 2.

  • @JayVBear45
    @JayVBear45 3 года назад +1

    What about composting toilets? Humanure? Grey water systems?

  • @danielbridgman7938
    @danielbridgman7938 3 года назад +4

    10:43 who left their drink next to the crap tumblers?

  • @Hobbes4ever
    @Hobbes4ever 3 года назад

    another informative video about body waste

  • @highliving-animatedvideos5831
    @highliving-animatedvideos5831 3 года назад +13

    My wife keeps telling me to put down the toilet seat.
    I don't know, though. It's never done anything nasty to me.

    • @daniels-mo9ol
      @daniels-mo9ol 3 года назад +3

      Did you miss the Southpark episode? Is life and death lol

    • @mho...
      @mho... 3 года назад +1

      just tell her to not flush, when she falls in!

  • @altman575
    @altman575 3 года назад

    I recommend the Glacier Bay power flush toilet. I have had it for a year. Only needs one flush. It doesn't clog and uses a 1/3 of the water of my old toilet. Best $160 for your bathroom.

  • @felipetolentino4876
    @felipetolentino4876 3 года назад +3

    The notification show up just as I was going to the throne

  • @arnaldorentes5371
    @arnaldorentes5371 3 года назад

    Thanks for the great video!
    A hint. When entering a house that has been uninhabited for some time, the smell is often pungent. The time without use dries up the hydraulic seal of the siphons, or "S" pipes and the stench of sewage returns to the rooms.
    Open all the faucets and showers, let the water run for a minute, flush all toilettes and ventilate the place well. The stench will disappear immediatelly.

  • @adamfilipkalle
    @adamfilipkalle 3 года назад +5

    5:46 the velocity increases and the pressure drops when the pipes narrows
    ruclips.net/video/DW4rItB20h4/видео.html. (3:48)

    • @petemorgan8087
      @petemorgan8087 3 года назад

      I was going to post the same.

    • @morfy2581
      @morfy2581 3 года назад +1

      Timestamped links:
      - click share
      - check "Start at"
      - type the timecode
      - copy link

  • @roselyncampisi822
    @roselyncampisi822 3 года назад

    I am glad that you educated us on this subject

  • @AshenDruid
    @AshenDruid 3 года назад +14

    Reminds me of that Erfurt Latrine Disaster. 60 nobles falling into a septic pit and drowning 😂

    • @veramae4098
      @veramae4098 3 года назад +3

      @@louisfalcone5494 Ahhh yes, the "it's mah freedom" argument.
      As for the rest, people only had the leisure to ponder the morality of construction / technology when modern efforts gave us that leisure.
      There's a passage in one of Robert Heinlein's books, a psychiatrist is discussing a rescued boy whose been alternately traumatized then rescued and treated kindly several times. He's a mess.
      The psych is telling the Space Patrol officer that if you kick dogs and treat them well on alternate days, they often go into a kind of coma, or become doggie psychopaths.
      The officer is appalled. "You do that to dogs?"
      Shrink looks at him steadily "You'd rather we do it with human beings?"

    • @UGNAvalon
      @UGNAvalon 3 года назад

      @Louis Falcone You do realize that there’s dozens of fields of science that have ZERO interaction with animals, right?
      And if you hate the immorality of civilization, why are you spending your time using the Internet on an electronic device using pollutant-producing electricity, when you can be spending it frolicking in the wilderness? 🤔

  • @SarimDeLaurec
    @SarimDeLaurec 3 года назад

    In Germany there are also toilets with two water settings. But most sewers are build with a certain water flow in mind. And if that flow is not met, the whole system needs to be flushed with even more water.
    We need to redesign our sewers, if we want to be actually more water efficient.

  • @h7opolo
    @h7opolo 3 года назад +7

    3:19 the funniest thing ever said on this channel.

  • @josephnorton1996
    @josephnorton1996 3 года назад

    I'm a plumber, and do a lot of water repurposing, and septic systems. If you want to jump into a rabbit hole...see how much science went into septic systems in your own yard. It will blow your mind.

  • @Master_Therion
    @Master_Therion 3 года назад +3

    10:36 "The Reinvent the Toilet Challenge?”
    If that is anything like the "Ice Bucket Challenge" you can count me out.

  • @__---__----__---__
    @__---__----__---__ Год назад

    That nr 1 or 2 flush option has been the norm in Estonia as well. Didn't know it wasn't common in USA!

  • @minnymouse4753
    @minnymouse4753 3 года назад +4

    What about a pool with a living sponges that's what sponges eat

    • @boxsterman77
      @boxsterman77 3 года назад +1

      Too much of a good thing for sponges perhaps?

    • @YoungRin-ms
      @YoungRin-ms 3 года назад +2

      Or a pool with genetically changed ones to better suit our needs if the original ones don't get the job done.

    • @ScumfuckMcDoucheface
      @ScumfuckMcDoucheface 3 года назад

      no way guy, the most efficient way to have decades of worry free backyard out door toiletries is to just have your poopin' pool... but instead of sponges? you just chain Mark Redwine to a near by rock or tree, just close enough so he can happily keep the poopin' pool prim propper and pristine clean of overproponderances of POOPS... just make sure he's chained up far enough away that he can't cave your skull in.
      =)
      problem solved.

  • @irissupercoolsy
    @irissupercoolsy 3 года назад

    3:50 We still have those at the "Scouts" and we call them here "HUDO" or "Hou uw darmen open", which translates to "Keep your intestines open"

  • @GoingtoHecq
    @GoingtoHecq 3 года назад +3

    I do wish we had better sewers. Ones that don't combine with storm drains

    • @jblyon2
      @jblyon2 3 года назад

      Until they get upgraded to modern standards the treatment plants in areas with combined storm drains and sewers regularly have to release untreated waste water when it rains. Once they're upgraded to handle the flow during heavy rains your sewage bill will roughly triple too! The systems should definitely be separate in most areas, though having combined ones in areas where rain is rare is important because the rainwater entering the storm drains tends to be badly contaminated.

  • @jericho86
    @jericho86 3 года назад

    Back in college, the dorm toilets were push down for 1, pull up for 2. They said that they were "water saving," but 1 was an ordinary flush and 2 was the most intense flush I have ever seen in a toilet. I think that the University really purchased some kind of ludicrous clog resident toilets and painted the handles green to trick the environmentalists.

  • @DominikJaniec
    @DominikJaniec 3 года назад +3

    dealing with waste - one of the most important technology

  • @hamndv
    @hamndv 3 года назад

    It's been while since I've watched his videos he is such positive guy

  • @iainballas
    @iainballas 3 года назад +6

    Ah yes
    the age old question
    How do I go, without having to go anywhere?

  • @gmarcins
    @gmarcins 3 года назад +1

    Real great story! Thaks!