How toilets saved humanity

1. Epidemics receded

Plague, cholera, nome and other diseases that devastated entire cities in the Middle Ages are not afraid of us now. For this, thanks to John Harrington, who was the first to designWho invented the flush toilet? a flush toilet, and Alexander Cumming, who perfected Harrington's invention and patented it.

And even before toilets, the risk of losing your eyesight due to trachomaWater related diseases: trachoma was much higher. The carrier of this disease is a fly that feeds only on human feces.

Unfortunately, more than two billion people on Earth still lackEstimates available for household drinking water, sanitation and hygiene access to toilets. Therefore, in the third world countries, the risk of terrible epidemics still exists.

2. Girls gained access to education

With the advent of toilets in schools, more girls were able to attend classes regularly — they no longer needed to stay at home during their periods. And it became easier for the boys to live: there was no longer the need to go out and leave the lesson for a long time.

3. The street has become a safer place

In the Middle Ages, people relieved themselves in a pot, and then threw urine and feces out of the window: one could easily become a victim of such toilet sediments while walking.

Life without toilet rooms was especially dangerous - and in some parts of the planet remains - for women: their absence increasesIndia Bihar rapes 'caused by lack of toilets' the risk of rape. In countries where toilets are still rare, women use “flying toilets” - bags for urine and feces, which are then stored in the house to escape from rapists. This alternative method leads to the multiplication of dangerous bacteria and viruses.

4. Drinking water is no longer a source of disease

In 1883, Robert Koch proved that the cause of the cholera epidemic was bacteria from faeces, which entered the body of people with drinking water. After this discovery, drinking and sewerage streams were diverted and tap water became cleaner.

Unfortunately, this positive effect of the evolution of toilets is not yet available to all people. For example, in India drinkingGanga water quality has worsened due to untreated sewage tap water is dangerous.

5. Personal hygiene has spread almost everywhere

Previously, there were significantly fewer opportunities to keep the body clean. In some countries, people wiped themselves with whatever they had to do and washed themselves once a week, a month, or even less often. To solve the problems of personal hygiene at the beginning of the 18th century, Christophe de Rozies invented the bidet - a mini-bath for intimate places. It allowed to keep the genitals clean even in conditions of water shortage.

Almost 200 years later in 1880, Clarence Scott inventedWho Invented Toilet Paper? toilet paper in rolls, which we still use. True, this is not an ideal way to clean intimate places: paper - even super soft - is not gentle enough and can damage the skin, leave microcracks, carry harmful bacteria and causeWHAT CAUSES PRURITIS ANI? perianal dermatitis.

What's next

Scientists are now working hard to ensure that the water used to drain and the waste itself serve for something useful. They are looking for ways to convert them into energy, fertilizers or process them into drinking water. Bill Gates and his wife Melinda are actively investing in the development of such useful toilets: they spentBill gates brandishes poo to showcase reinvented toilet tech already more than 200 million dollars and are not going to stop there.

Also, inventors are trying to create plumbing that will help monitorFuture AI Toilets to Scan Poop to Diagnose Health Issues for health. Models of the future will collect analyzes and report if something is wrong with them and the owner of the toilet should take care of his health.