The Untold History Of Toilets

The 1851 Great Exhibition in London is a seminal event in modern toilet history. There, multitudes of Victorians were awed as they enjoyed the marvelous new technology of pulling a chain to watch their most private affairs drain away. But there was a catch. 

While ardent lavatory enthusiasts may know about the toilet's grand reveal, many may not know that you had to pay for the pleasure. The Royal Parks explains that attendees forked over a penny, and in return, they not only got to use the toilet, but they received a towel, comb, and a bonus shoe shine. While it isn't noted if users got to pull the chain more than once for the penny, we do know that an incredible 675,000 pennies were collected. While not as common today, there are still plenty of pay-per-use restrooms throughout the world — though these days, it probably doesn't include a shoeshine.

While the Great Exhibition popularized toilets, it unexpectedly made urban blight worse. While the use of toilets generally improves city sanitation, London's system was unfortunately undersized to handle the inflow of additional human waste. This led to such situations as the Great Stink of 1858. Only when a proper sewer system was put in place in 1868 did the new flushing toilets take off.

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