When things get urgent, suddenly the most important thing in the world becomes important: the toilet. Whether it’s a simple outdoor shovel, a block of wood, or a sophisticated ceramic wonder with shower and dryer functions, humanity has found many solutions to provide relief throughout history. A need that connects everyone, across millennia and continents. What many people take for granted is still beyond the reach of billions of people today.
World Toilet Day, celebrated every November 19, is a reminder that around 3.4 billion people around the world do not have access to so-called “safely managed sanitation services” – that is, toilets that are not shared with other households and whose wastewater is disposed of safely, so that health, dignity and safety are guaranteed. According to the World Health Organization, 354 million people have to go out of business WHO still doing outdoor activities.
“We need toilets for everyone, everywhere,” the UN wrote in a statement. “No matter how the world changes, some things remain the same – our need for toilets is one of them.”
With spades and shovels
World Toilet Day is also a reminder that the historical beginnings of the toilet continue in many places today: a shovel, a plot of land – and nothing else.
This was the most common solution in the early days of humanity. Whether on a hike, herding animals, or on the outskirts of a small settlement – shovels were as much a part of everyday life as water jugs or firewood. Many soldiers also dug latrines over the centuries, often with shovels and the simplest of methods. Fast, functional and with as little odor as possible.
Shoulder to shoulder in ancient Rome
The ancient Romans especially showed that you could perform virtues out of necessity: In the public latrines of that time, people sat shoulder to shoulder, wearing practical togas, without any partitions. Water splashed under the chair, carrying away the remains.
Instead of toilet paper, a sponge on a stick was used, called a “tersorium,” as anthropologist Ann Olga Koloski-Ostrow explains in her report in Smithonian Magazine. It wasn’t cleanliness in the modern sense – but it certainly was welcoming. “You can learn a lot about a culture by looking at how they use the toilet,” emphasizes Koloski-Ostrow.
Bathing from above in the Middle Ages
In the European Middle Ages, business became a test of courage: in cities, many people used chamber pots. The streets have open waterways – canals that run along the streets. The contents of the chamber pot were simply thrown out the window. It is not unusual for the French exclamation “Garde à l’eau!” to be heard. (Attention, water!). Anyone walking past the lower floors risks being hit by a nasty downpour – or worse. But in castles or monasteries, there are toilets in the form of bay windows. Here too, businesses usually just fall from above into the ditch without any difficulty.
Water closet victory
The flush toilet is a milestone: John Harington, Queen Elizabeth I’s godson, is said to have invented the toilet in 1596 – but the device was initially a curiosity. It was only with industrialization and the construction of modern sewer systems in the 19th century that the “Water Closet” began its triumphant journey. This makes toilets – complete with siphons to prevent odors – not only more comfortable, but also play an important role in public health.
In the Victorian era, bathrooms suddenly became beautiful – at least for the rich: richly decorated porcelain bowls indicated taste and sophistication. Any self-respecting person will install a very elegant model – a quiet little place being representative.
High-tech toilet from Japan
Currently, toilets in several parts of the world have long been high-tech. Especially in Japan: heated seats, nozzles for perfect cleaning, gentle airflow for drying, automatic lids that open and close as if by magic, and background music are all standard. At the same time, sustainability is becoming increasingly important: composting toilets and water recycling models are seen as future solutions for a growing global population.
But while ultra-modern toilets with seat heaters, integrated bidet functions and deodorization are increasingly popular in rich countries, the reality remains dramatic in others: Unsafe sanitation and hygiene situations are partly responsible for diseases such as diarrhea, cholera and typhus – especially among children.
UN warning
According to current WHO figures, around 1,000 children under the age of five die every day from diseases caused by inadequate sanitation, unsafe water and poor hygiene. Based on current progress, three billion people will still be living without safe toilets by 2030, according to the UN.
The numbers may sound boring, but the consequences are not: If there is no safe place to urinate, the risk of disease not only increases. This also has to do with human dignity. From the shovel to the flush button: the toilet is a reflection of civilization. The film tells a story of cleanliness, ingenuity and progress – and a humanity where luxury and shocking poverty still coexist.
© dpa-infocom, dpa:251118-930-306267/1
