Rate My Poo

The toilet is by far the greatest technological advance of our time. Mostly overlooked in a world of smart phones, laptops, and iPods, the toilet has contributed more to the modern world than any product.
The toilet and plumbing originated from the ancient Greek, Roman, Persian, Indian, and Chinese civilizations. With the rise of public baths in Rome, they needed a way to transport the water and waste to and from the baths. The Romans developed eleven aqueducts that brought water from rivers in the area to the city for drinking, bathing, and even fountains. After use, it was taken by a waste system of terracotta pipes away from the homes. The poor would have used individual pots that they empty into the sewer or visited public latrines composed of long benches with holes. By the 5th century B.C. they had developed city officials to monitor and improve the sewer systems.



The invention of the toilet and along with it indoor plumbing has taken technology to another level. The world that used to be plagued by disease and poor health because of waste left on the streets or around the house has now been changed. Indoor plumbing not only takes away waste from the general public, but now has the ability to treat it and turn it back into clean water or fertilizer. The invention of the toilet itself, as advancement from outhouses, now brings a necessity from the outdoors indoors. You no longer had to brave the cold winter to use the bathroom, now it is in the luxury of your own home. This not only saves time, but also contributes to better health. You don’t have to go outside and risk getting a cold in winter, or be around it in the hot summers.
A great example to support this technological advance is third world countries. Many third world countries do not have the luxury of toilets or indoor plumbing. I believe this can be directly related to their lack of advancement in the technological world. Though to us the plumbing system seems like a basic technology, it can open the doors to many other things. Once you advance plumbing, water treatment can also follow, which is one of the greatest problems in third world countries. If they have the ability to route waste away from their towns, they will also be able to clean it and in turn bring the clean water for reuse. This can bring into their area reservoirs and water systems which would immediately improve quality of life, life expectancy, and disease mitigation. Once understanding the logistics of sewage systems, etc. they will have the adequate time to think of improving on other technologies.
The toilet has also given us a few seconds each day to reflect on what has transpired or what is about to come. It gives us the rare ability to close out the rest of the world and just think. In a world that has become invaded with sharing almost every aspect of our lives with the each other or the public, the toilet allows us time with ourselves.