How old is the oldest original functioning flushing toilet in Slabtown? 133 years old
Telling guess to use the facilities prior to arriving for a walking tour has been more challenging than any mask mandates, tour capacity limits, and reduced hours of operation rules during these challenging times. With all this potty stress, I distracted myself by looking into the history of the flushing toilet. Sir John Harrington, godson of Elizabeth is credit for inventing the flushing toilet in 1592. There was not a patent for the water closet until 1775. In the 1930s The Work Projects Administration built two million outhouses across the United States. Many homes built in the 1880s and 1890s in East Portland were built with outhouses, sample. I have learned more about Portland’s historic toilets at Hippo Hardware than you could ever learn online.
I had to look up Thomas Crapper and Co.. they were established in 1861 and operated just over 100 years. This British company was revived in 2010 and produces authentic reproductions of Crapper’s original Victorian bathroom fittings for sale. Thomas Crapper (b. 1836-d.1910) held nine patents. He improved the S-bend plumbing trap in 1880 by inventing the U-bend. Sadly, his name is not the origin of the word “crap”.