At the course where we most often play golf, the “club house” area was closed during the pandemic. They installed a window so you could pay your green fees without entering the facility. There was a sign on the door that said the facility was closed to the public — and you could enter only if you needed to use the “John.” The use of the word John to refer to the toilet is common, but it’s not usually used on a sign like this one. Well, of course, this got me to wondering…. how did “John” come to refer to a toilet? I wonder what John did to deserve so much disrespect?
The most common explanation for why we call the bathroom the John is that it retained an association with the first name of British nobleman Sir John Harington, who invented the flush toilet in 1596. But the truth is that although Harington is usually credited with devising a prototype of the flush toilet, the “john” moniker for the bathroom is probably not related to his achievements. (This is probably a good time to note that the flushing toilet concept is credited to Thomas Crapper…. yea, that leads to another popular myth — and maybe another blog entry.)
But back to Harington — the newfangled toilet idea never really caught on during Harington’s lifetime; it didn’t come into widespread use until after 1775, when another British inventor, Alexander Cummings, received a patent for it. The term “john” for the bathroom wasn’t recorded in print until the mid-18th century. And of course “john” is an American term — you don’t hear people in Britain call the bathroom “john” — they call it the “W.C.” (water closet.)
As I mentioned, the first recorded use of the term “john” to refer to the bathroom dates back to 1738 and is found in the rules that governed the actions of incoming Harvard freshmen…. “No freshman shall mingo against the College wall or go into the fellows’ cuz john.” Supposedly, “cuz john” was short for cousin John, an 18th-century American slang term for the bathroom.
The word “mingo” was slang for urinating. It’s interesting to note that the college elders at Harvard found it necessary to enact a rule prohibiting students from peeing on the sides of college buildings.
Cousin John’s actual identity is a mystery, but he probably wan’t anybody in particular. “Going to visit cousin John” was probably just a euphemism for using the bathroom.
Of course the name John is one of the most common names and, probably because it is so common, has become a generic designation for any man — like… Mac, Jack, or Joe. We’re familiar with phrases like Hey, Mac! Got a light? and the term G.I. Joe has come to mean any man serving in the military. “Johndarm” or “John” is a slang word for a policeman — especially in France. The term “John Doe” originated in English law as a fictitious name to describe one of the people involved in certain types of litigation. John Doe is also often used to refer to a corpse whose identity is unknown. A demijohn is a large bottle, usually encased in wicker, like a bottle of Chianti. A prostitute’s client is often referred to as a john. A John boat is a small, flat-bottomed boat used on inland waterways. A johnny cake is a cake made of cornmeal and toasted over a fire. A shameful name from the past, in the United States, is “John Crow.” We’ve all been asked to sign our “John Hancock” and many people have received a Dear John Letter. Most of us have heard about John Henry and John Q. Public as well as John Law. And if you’re a Johnnie-come-lately, you’ve probably wondered who shot John?
So those whose name is John should feel honored that their name has spawned so many expressions, even though not all of them are likely to please bearers of the name.
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