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Toilet

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A toilet is a plumbing fixture and disposal system primarily intended for the disposal of the bodily wastes: urine, fecal matter and vomit.

The word "toilet" and its synonyms lavatory or "W.C.". can be used to refer to the fixture itself or to the room containing the fixture, especially in British English. In North American English the word "toilet" refers solely to the fixture itself and not to the room that contains it, thus asking for the "toilet" would seem indecent. Instead, the euphemisms bathroom, rest room, washroom or men's room / women's room are preferred.

Toilets additionally accept a paper product known as toilet paper. Other objects may cause blockages in the plumbing.

Etymology

The word "toilet" came to be used in English along with other French fashions (first noted 1681) [citation needed]. It originally referred to the whole complex of operations of hairdressing and body care that centered at a dressing table covered to the floor with cloth (toile) and lace, on which stood a mirror, which might also be draped in lace: the ensemble was a toilette. The English poet Alexander Pope in The Rape of the Lock (1717) described the intricacies of a lady's preparation:

'And now, unveil'd, the toilet stands display'd
Each silver vase in mystic order laid.'

Through the 18th century, everywhere in the English-speaking world, a toilet remained a lady's draped dressing-table. The word was adapted as a genteel euphemism for the room and the object as we know them now, perhaps following the French usage cabinet de toilette, much as powder-room may be coyly used today, and this has been linked to the introduction of public toilets, for example on railway trains, which required a plaque on the door. The original usage has become indelicate and obsolete, and has been replaced by dressing-table.

Vestiges of the original meaning continue to be reflected in terms such as toiletries, eau de toilette and toilet bag (to carry flannels, soaps, etc). This seemingly contradictory terminology has served as the basis for various parodies ranging from Jeff Foxworthy's routine ("If you think that 'toilet water' is in fact toilet water, you just might be a redneck!") to Cosmopolitan magazine ("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.")

The word toilet itself may be considered an impolite word in the United States, whilst elsewhere the word is used without any embarrassment. The choice of the word used instead of toilet is highly variable, not just by regional dialect but also, at least in Britain, by class connotations. Nancy Mitford wrote an essay out of the choice of wording; see U and non-U English. Some manufacturers show this uneasiness with the word and its class attributes: American Standard, the largest manufacturer, 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. When referring to the room or the actual piece of equipment, the word toilet is often substituted with other euphemisms and dysphemisms. See toilet humor. As old euphemisms have become accepted, they have been progressively replaced by newer ones, an example of the euphemism treadmill at work. The choice of word used to describe the room or the piece of plumbing relies as much on regional variation (dialect) as on social situation and level of formality (Register (linguistics)).

Lavatory

The term lavatory, abbreviated in slang to lav, derives from the Latin lavātōrium, which in turn comes from Latin lavāre, to wash. It used to refer to a vessel for washing, such as a sink/wash basin, and thus came to mean a room with washing vessels. Since these rooms often also contain toilets, the meaning evolved into its current one, namely the polite and formal euphemism for a toilet and the room containing it. Lavatory is the common signage for toilets on commercial airlines around the world.

Loo

The origin of the (chiefly British) term loo is unknown. However there are numerous theories. Some of these are:

  • That it derives from the term "gardyloo" (a corruption of the French phrase gardez l'eau loosely translated as "watch out for the water!") which was used in medieval Edinburgh when chamber pots were emptied from a window onto the street. However the first recorded usage of "loo" comes long after this term became obsolete.
  • That the word comes from nautical terminology; loo being an old-fashioned word for lee. The standard nautical pronunciation (in British English) of leeward is looward. Early ships were not fitted with toilets but the crew would urinate over the side of the vessel. However it was important to use the leeward side. Using the windward side would result in the urine blown back on board. (The phrases 'pissing into the wind' and 'spitting into the wind' also refer to this problem.) Even on modern yachts, most yachtsmen, whilst at sea, find it more convenient to say I have to go to the loo, than to use the heads.
  • That an early British toilet manufacturer produced a model of cistern named "Waterloo" (in honour of the Battle of Waterloo), and the term derives from 'going to the Waterloo', and then abbreviated to simply as 'going to the `loo'. [citation needed]
  • That when British soldiers went to France and the French would put them in hotels with 100 rooms; the last room would be the toilet,k which happened to be the 100th room in the hotel. [citation needed]

Jacks

In Tudor England a privy was first referred to as a jakes in 1530. In modern Ireland the cognate term jacks is still used, and is probably the predominant way of referring to the toilet.

Khazi

Lexicographer Eric Partridge derives khazi, also spelt karzy, kharsie or carzey, from a low Cockney word carsey originating in the late 19th century and meaning a privvy. Carsey also referred to a den or brothel. It's presumably derived from the Italian casa for house, with the spelling influenced by similar sound to khaki. Khazi is now most commonly used in the city of Liverpool in the UK, away from its cockney slang roots.

Bog

The bog is a colloquial expression in British English for a toilet. More wide-spread is the usage bogroll, meaning toilet paper. See also tree bog, not to be confused with the swampland meaning of bog.

Dunny

The Dunny is a British and Australian expression for an outside toilet. The person who appeared weekly to empty the pan beneath the seat was known as the dunnyman. The word derives from the British dialect word dunnekin, meaning dung-house

Netty

The Netty is a Northern English Expression for an outside toilet

Shithouse

The Shithouse is British and American slang for the toilet

John

The John is an American expression for the Toilet

Types of toilets

Squat toilet as seen in some parts of France, Italy, India and China

The original flush toilet was made by Sir John Harington, but due to slurs published by himself and being ridiculed in England for his invention the toilet was never mass-produced. Then Alexander Cummings, a watch-maker, patented his design for a flush toilet, which was the basis for the modern toilet the human population (as well as some housepets) uses today. There are many different types of toilets around the world. There are also many different ways to clean oneself after using the toilet. A lot depends on national mores and local resources. The most common choice in the Western world is toilet paper, sometimes used in conjunction with the bidet; see toilet paper for a discussion of the many alternatives used through history and in different cultures. In the Middle East and some countries of Asia, such as India, the custom is to use water rather than paper, traditionally the left hand is used for this, for which reason that hand is considered impolite or polluted in many eastern countries.

Some toilet areas are specially adapted for people with disabilities. These are wide enough to allow the entry by a person in a wheelchair and often feature hand-holds bolted to the wall, enabling the person to maneuver onto the toilet if necessary.

The most common type of toilet in modern cities is the flush toilet, in which water takes away the waste through sewers to a waste treatment plant. In rural areas where sewers are not practical, septic tanks may be installed instead.

The most common design in Western countries is the throne or sitting toilet. Many other countries use the squat toilet, especially in public restrooms, finding it both cheaper to install and more hygenic to maintain.

Main designs Specialty designs

Toilets in private residences

Flush toilet.

In the developed world almost all residences have at least one toilet. In the home, a toilet may or may not be in the same room as a shower, bathtub, and/or wash basin. Some toilets are still outside. One type of toilet is the tippler toilet or 'long drop'. These are based around Lancashire, England. They are flushed from a scullery and water goes down a narrow channel or gutter and flushes the toilet, which is in an out-building.

Public toilets

A portable urinal in the Netherlands.

A public toilet may or may not cost money to use; for those that do, see pay toilet. Between the categories of outright free and outright pay toilets there is a grey area of toilets where a fee is expected, but not enforced.

Public facilities often have many toilets partitioned by stalls (US) or cubicles (UK), with the washing facilities in a separate area where other people of the same sex are present. The washing area may be common to both sexes. Facilities for men often also have separate urinals, either wall-mounted fixtures designed for a single user, or a constantly-draining basin or trough for collective use. Wall-mounted urinals are sometimes separated by small partitions or other obstructions for privacy, i.e., to keep the user's genitals hidden from public view.

An automated Sanisette outdoor toilet

Outdoor public toilets (in the street, around parks, etc.) are a form of street furniture. For mixed sex arrangements, there are cubicles varying from simple devices with little or no plumbing to more luxurious versions that automatically clean themselves after every use (for the latter, see Sanisette). Facilities without walls all around are typically for urination only, and for men only; although passers-by can see the urinating men from the back, they cannot see the genitals. These street urinals are known as pissoirs after the French term (see Urinal).

Some facilities are mobile and can thus be put in place where and when needed, e.g., for a weekend at an entertainment venue. Additionally, some can be sunk into the ground (and thereby made inoperable) for the periods that they are less needed. The idea behind this is that some people do not like the sight of a public toilet in the street, and they are more easily hidden than repeatedly moved. This type is typically installed in entertainment areas and made operational during weekend evenings and nights. Even people who are too shy to use it at daytime, tend to overcome that shyness after drinking some alcohol.

Many public toilets use blue lighting, to prevent drug abuse by making it harder to locate the veins.[citation needed]

A Portable toilet is an outdoor public toilet with walls which can either be connected to the local sewage system or store the waste and be emptied from time to time. Many toilets can be cleaned on the spot, or at a central location in the case of a mobile toilet or urinal. In Europe, public toilets are also set up for cities as a compensation for advertising permits. They are part of a street furniture contract between the out-of-home advertising company and the city council. The reason for this combination is the shortage in city budgets.

Gender and public toilets

A version of door pictograms by Manfred Wolff-Plottegg. The images represent the male and female sexual organs.

Separation by sex is characteristic of public toilets to the extent that pictograms of a man or a woman are used to indicate where the respective toilets are. These pictograms are sometimes (e.g., in California) enclosed within standard geometric forms to reinforce this information, with a circle representing a women's toilet and a triangle representing a men's facility. Pictograms depicting men and women in traditional dress (men in pants, women in skirts) have been criticized for perpetuating gender stereotypes; however, there may be no practical alternatives. Standard gender symbols are rarely used.

Many European toilet doors used to be (and still sometimes are) only marked "WC" (Water Closet), which can cause confusion to non-Europeans (although it should be noted that this is not common in the United Kingdom). Similarly, in the Philippines the label "CR" (comfort room) is common, which is equally unintuitive to overseas visitors.

Sex-separated public toilets are a source of difficulty for some people. For example, people with children of the opposite sex must choose between bringing the child into a toilet not designated for the child's gender, or entering a toilet not designated for one's own. Men caring for babies often find that only the women's washroom has been fitted with a change table. People with disabilities who need assistance to use the restroom have an additional problem if their helper is the opposite sex.

Sex-separated public toilets are often difficult to negotiate for transgendered or androgynous people, who are often subject to embarrassment, harassment, or even assault or arrest by others offended by the presence of a person they interpret as being of the other gender (whether due to their outward presentation or their genital status). Transgendered people have been arrested for using not only bathrooms that correspond to their gender of identification, but also ones that correspond to the sex they were born with.

men's public restroom symbol
women's public restroom symbol

Many existing public toilets are gender-neutral. Additionally, some public places (such as facilities targeted to the transgendered or LGBT communities, and a few universities and offices) provide individual washrooms that are not gender-specified, specifically in order to respond to the concerns of gender-variant people; but this remains very rare and often controversial. [2] Various courts have ruled on whether transgendered people have the right to use the washroom of their gender of identification. [3]

A significant number of facilities have additional gender-neutral public toilets for a different reason — they are marked not for being for females or males, but as being accessible to persons with disabilities, and are adequately equipped to allow a person using a wheelchair and/or with mobility concerns to use them.

Another recent development in public toilets is the "family restroom". Family restrooms are unisex but unlike other unisex bathrooms that allow only one user at a time, the family restroom contains multiple stalls designed for maximum privacy and communal washing area for use by both genders. The family restroom is designed so that a parent with a young child of the opposite gender can bring the child into the restroom with them without the concerns associated with single-gender restrooms. Family restrooms have started appearing in newly-built sports stadiums, amusement parks, shopping malls, and major museums.

Toilets in private homes are almost never separated by sex. However, the size of a home or facility bears on the availability of options. Small facilities are limited by their space to the toilet options they can offer; it is more common to find a higher number of choices in a large facility. The same is true for homes; in more affluent households in the USA, where the homes are usually larger, bathrooms are also often more spacious than average, and more numerous. In such homes, bathrooms (especially master bathrooms) are increasingly being designed with a small adjoining room exclusively for the toilet, as well as separate washing basins. This makes it easier for couples who share a bathroom to maintain their desired level of privacy and personal space. In Australia, it has long been the case that the toilet is in a separate room from the bathroom. However, a refinement not seen often in Australia is to provide a small washbasin in the same room so that users need not emerge with dirty hands.

Some public toilets have begun to be provided with flushable paper toilet seat covers which allow the user the comfort of knowing that they are not in contact with a surface previously used by a stranger. There is however no medical evidence that these prevent the spread of disease. [1]

Toilets in public transport

There are usually toilets in airliners, regional rail trains, and often in long-distance buses and ferries, but not in metros, school buses, trams, and other buses. Many newer trains have a waste reservoir, but, in older trains and still in some newer ones, the contents simply fall on the tracks, hence the notice which appears in many train toilets: "Please do not flush while the train is standing at a station".

Lavatories on aircraft consists of a sink, waste bin and a toilet. The toilet does not flush with water, rather suction removes the waste into a collection bin below.

See also: Passenger train toilets

"High-tech" toilets

Advanced technology is being integrated into toilets with more functions, especially in Japan - see Toilets in Japan. The biggest maker of these toilets is TOTO. Such toilets can cost from US$2,000 to $4,000. The features are operated by control pads (sometimes with bilingual labels), and even hand-held remote control devices. Some of these features are:

  • Water jets, or "bottom washers" like a bidet, as an alternative to toilet paper
  • The "Portable Washlet", Toto's portable hand-held bottom washer
  • Blow dryers, to dry the body after use of water jets
  • Artificial flush sounds, to mask noises such as body functions
  • Urine and stool analysis, for medical monitoring. Matsushita's "Smart Toilet" checks blood pressure, temperature, and blood sugar.
  • Digital clock, to monitor time spent in the bathroom
  • Automatic lid operation, to open and close the lid
  • Heated seats
  • Deodorizing fans
  • Automated paper toilet seat cover replacers, automatically replaces paper toilet seat covers with the push of a button.

"Lo-tech" toilets

According to The Global Water Supply and Sanitation Assessment 2000 by the World Health Organization, 40% of the global population does not have access to excreta disposal facilities, mostly in Asia and Africa. There are efforts to design toilets that are easy to build and maintain with simple materials, that are also hygienic. The World Toilet Organisation has created some designs.

Toilets for people with disabilities

Toilets for people with disabilities have a number of alterations to help people with a disability, most notably for people who use wheelchairs. These toilets may include lowered fixtures such as sinks and water fountains; adequate space and grab bars for maneuvering. In the United States, most new construction for public use must be built to ADA standards for accessibility.

Grey water

Main article: Greywater

In order to conserve levels of potable water, in some installations grey water is used for toilets. Grey water is waste water produced from processes such as washing dishes, laundry and bathing.

Culture

Toilet training

An important part of early childhood education is toilet training.

Disposal

The connection made between toilets and dirt, or distasteful items, has led to them being also used to dispose of wedding rings, letters or critical reviews with which one disagrees (cf. Goethe's example). In this case, the use is partly (and in many cultures very strongly) symbolic, as in most human cultures the places used to dispose of faeces and urine have some connotation related to dirtiness or rejection.

Graffiti

Public toilets have been associated with graffiti, often of a transgressive, gossippy, or low-brow humorous nature (cf. toilet humour). The word latrinalia --from latrine 'toilet' and -alia, signifying a worthless collection--was coined to describe this kind of graffiti. A famous example of such artwork, was featured on the album cover of the satirical Tony-award Broadway musical Urinetown, using felt tip pen scribblings.

File:Ergonomically designed facilities closeup.jpg
A closer look at the EDF

The Future

As we move into the 21st century, scientists throughout the world are looking to further the toilet 'using' experience. After years of turmoil and what would have seemed to be endless debate, it appears that designers and scientists have finally cooperated in order to create what can only be described as the next generation of toilet: the EDF or Ergonomically Designed Facilities.

Furtive sexual relations

Similarly, toilets have long been associated with furtive sexual relations. These include assignations ("for a good time call..." messages, note-passing between stalls) as well as the acts themselves, for which dalliances toilets provide a convenient (though not necessarily sanitary or romantic) venue.

For many years, gay men have used them for "cruising" (anonymous sexual contact). When used for such purposes in the United States, public toilets are often referred to as "Roman tea rooms", often just shortened to "T-rooms". In the United Kingdom, the act of picking up a sexual partner for a same-sex 'quickie' is better known as cottaging, a cottage in the general sense being a small, cosy, countryside home. The playwright Joe Orton made reference to this practice in his plays.

Particularly associated with toilets is the use of glory holes for peeping, or anonymous fellatio. Another example, equally open to heterosexual participation, would be sex in airplane toilets, which is reflected in the phrase "Mile High Club".

Social bonding

Additionally, public toilets are important arenas of male as well as female social bonding. Boys and girls may use the facilities to talk about sporting events, politics, or gossip. Often, children will sneak into the room designated to the opposite sex as an intentional act of boundary-transgression.

In many cultures, each gender has its own distinct toilet etiquette. for social situations. For example, American women out for a night on the town may invite one another to go to the toilet together as a way of excusing themselves from the men in their party (e.g. at a restaurant table), and once inside the so-called restroom, chat with abandon. In this sense the public toilet serves as the modern equivalent of the drawing room -- a private space to which to withdraw. Men tend to be more reticent and may even experience pee shyness, yet they too may feel a certain camaraderie. This is often more easily felt during outdoor, toilet-less urination, e.g. on a tree or a wall.

Unusual uses

In the wake of the 2003 cartoon film Finding Nemo, a number of children sought to help their tropical fish "escape" captivity by means of a toilet. Many sewage treatment plants responded by announcing that live animals in the sewer are almost certainly killed by the treatment process.

Several movies include comic scenes involving eruptions of water and/or sewage while a character is sitting on the toilet. (e.g., Goonies, Not Another Teen Movie). See also: Toilet humour.

The "Great Equalizer"

The toilet is noted as one of the unifiers of humanity, as people of all social classes must use it. Simply put, everyone defecates, and this factor of biology is seen by some to be unifying.

In Poland, it is reflected by calling the toilet euphemistically as the place, "gdzie nawet król chodzi piechotą" (where even the king comes on foot). A similar saying was used in imperial Germany, and a similar saying is still known in Hungary "ahová a király is gyalog jár" (where to even the king goes by foot).

Toilets as Refuge

Because of the privacy associated with restrooms, they are perceived by some as places of solace. For example, one might go to the restroom at work simply to escape from the pressures of coworkers, or a school restroom to escape harassment by peers, or the restroom at home to escape domestic troubles. Because of the solace of restrooms, many people also bring books to read, or more recently, portable video game systems or music players into them to play or listen to while or after defecating. Notably, Ernest Hemingway had a bookcase in the bathroom near the toilet.[2]

Toilet paper security

Many private and public toilets are provided with toilet roll holders, each of which can hold up to two complete rolls of toilet paper at one time. This arrangement is most effective if paper is always used from the roll with less paper on it. Then, there is an allowance of one complete roll before a completely used roll is replaced. (In effect, the inventory of toilet paper at the toilet has a minimum of one roll and a maximum of two rolls). However, if both rolls are finished at the same time, there is a risk of being without toilet paper before the next replacement.

Some facilities address this problem by installing a spring-loaded dispenser in which the current roll is the only one readily visible (thus encouraging the user to take from the current roll). This type of dispenser often has an overhang or plastic tab obscuring the next roll, which springs down into place when the current roll is used up. One effect is that the user may choose a different stall based on how much paper apparently remains. Other facilities have a single massive roll in a clear container to indicate how much paper remains so the user is not caught without paper (or worried about it).

Manufacturers

List of manufacturers of toilets and fixtures:

Bibliography

  • Temples of Convenience - And Chambers of Delight by Lucinda Lambton
  • Thunder, Flush and Thomas Crapper by Adam Hart-Davis
  • Bernard Share Slanguage - a dictionary of Irish slang (Dublin,1997) ISBN 0-7171-2683-8
Early 20th Century outhouse, preserved at a ghost town in Arizona.

See also

References

  1. ^ MIT medical Ask Lucy archive on paper toilet seat covers. June 28, 2006
  2. ^ NPR: "Tracking Hemingway in Cuba", September 25, 2002
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