Sunday, December 10, 2006
Bathroom Lore, The first bathroom
The idea of a separate room for the disposal of bodily waste goes back at least 10,000. On Orkney, an island off the coast of Scotland, the inhabitants, who lived in stone huts, created a drainage system that carried the waste directly into a nearby stream. I'd hate to live down stream from those folks.
The first sophisticated plumbing:
Bathtubs dating back to 2000 B.C. have been found on the island of Crete (where there's also evidence of the first flushing toilet). Considering that they were built almost 4,000 years ago, the similarity to modern bathes is startling.
Around 1500 B.C., elite Egyptians had hot and cold running water; it came into homes through a system of copper tubing and pipes.
The first social bathing:
The ancient Romans took their bathing seriously, building public facilities wherever they settled-including London. The more elaborate of these included massage salons, food and wine, gardens, exercise rooms, and in at least one case, a public library. Coed bathing was not uncommon, nor frowned upon.
Fact: The first American to have plumbing installed in his home was Henry Wadsworth Longfellow in 1840.
More to come.
The first sophisticated plumbing:
Bathtubs dating back to 2000 B.C. have been found on the island of Crete (where there's also evidence of the first flushing toilet). Considering that they were built almost 4,000 years ago, the similarity to modern bathes is startling.
Around 1500 B.C., elite Egyptians had hot and cold running water; it came into homes through a system of copper tubing and pipes.
The first social bathing:
The ancient Romans took their bathing seriously, building public facilities wherever they settled-including London. The more elaborate of these included massage salons, food and wine, gardens, exercise rooms, and in at least one case, a public library. Coed bathing was not uncommon, nor frowned upon.
Fact: The first American to have plumbing installed in his home was Henry Wadsworth Longfellow in 1840.
More to come.
