Have you thought much recently about your toilet?
(What a question to ask, right?) Of course you haven’t. We all use the toilet, but we don’t often think, or talk about the toilet. Well, My Plumber Heating & Cooling is kind of in the business of toilets, and we do like talking about them; in fact, we think toilets are pretty fascinating.
From your toilet’s history to its future, and a few things to know about buying a new toilet. Consider the following interesting, entertaining, and even some strange-but-true facts:
1. The 1960 film Psycho was the first to feature a scene that showed a toilet flushing. (And wouldn’t you know, the studio received a host of complaints citing indecency.)
2. It’s no longer science fiction to think thatyour toilet bowl could soon be embedded with predictive health sensors; just imagine, your toilet might be able to tell you you’re pregnant or that you have a pesky bacterial infection.
3. The average person spends three years of their life sitting on the toilet.
4. It’s estimated that 2.6 billion people worldwide do not have access to proper toilet facilities. (More people have cell phones than have flushable toilets.)
5. A man named Thomas Crapper — yes, Crapper —is credited with the invention of the siphon flush system we use today.
6. Researchers spent more than $100,000 to determine people’s preference for placing the toilet paper roll in the ‘under’ position, or the ‘over’. The results? Three out of four are ‘over’ people.
7. Most American toilets flush in the key of E flat.
8. Ancient Romans not only recognized a toilet god, Crepitus, but had to get creative when it came to sanitation; toilet paper wasn’t a thing back then, so the Roman army made use of a water-soaked sponge at the end of a stick.
9. The toilet is flushed more times during halftime at the Super Bowl than at any other time during the year.
10. Your cell phone contains up to 20 times more germs and bacteria than the average toilet seat! The same goes for your computer keyboard, but multiply that number by 10: Your keyboard is 200 times more likely to be germy than your toilet seat.
11. Household toilets are not one size fits all. When purchasing a new toilet, northern Virginia homeowners must consider the size of the toilet’s rough in — or the distance between the outlet pipe and the wall behind the toilet. Knowing your rough in size ensures your toilet will fit correctly and work properly.
12. The first U.S. president to enjoy an air-conditioned Oval Office was Herbert Hoover, who spent $30,000 on the system just months after the stock market crash of 1929. So, it’s about a toilet but still a great fact!
Like we said: Fascinating, right?
My Plumber Heating & Cooling is northern Virginia’s resources for everything sewer pipes, sump pumps, and even toilets, too. If you have any questions, or just looking for more nuggets of knowledge like these, give us a call, or follow My Plumber Heating and Cooling on Facebook.
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