The Ancient Throne
It is not actually known who invented the toilet. Historians have found evidence in Scotland dating as far back as 3,000 B.C. that suggests primitive bathrooms. Ancient Greece also had buildings with earthenware pans with terra-cotta pipes connected to a water supply. More famously known is Ancient Rome, who had public bathhouses and commercial lavatories; however, these were not used daily, with many Roman citizens throwing their waste onto the streets. Medieval England even had castle garderobes, which were protruding rooms with an opening which royalty could excrete waste into the moat below.
Plumbing and sanitation have come a long way since ancient times though. In fact, it was in the 1500’s when toilets started to resemble our modern idea of the design, using a raised cistern (the tank of water often found on the back of a commode) with a small pipe that released water when a lever was pulled. This idea was built upon 200 years later with Alexander Cumming's invention of the S-shaped pipe under the basin.
