A few days ago I discussed the use of the the word \u201cjohn\u201d when referring to the toilet or bathroom (among other things.) Well, obviously my mind is still in the toilet, because I got to thinking about the other terms I\u2019ve used to refer to the toilet over the years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The term \u201ctoilet\u201d itself comes from the French \u201ctoilette,\u201d which meant \u201cdressing room.\u201d \u201cToilette\u201d was derived from the French \u201ctoile,\u201d meaning \u201ccloth\u201d \u2014 specifically, referring to the cloth draped over someone\u2019s shoulders while their hair was being groomed. During the 17th century, the toilet was simply the process of getting dressed, fixing your hair, applying make-up and the like \u2014 more or less the grooming of one\u2019s self. This gradually began to refer to the items around where someone was groomed, such as the table, powder bottles, and other items. During the 1900s in America, the term began being used to refer to both the room itself where people got dressed and ready for the day, as well as the device itself now most commonly known as \u201cthe toilet.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The British word for the toilet, \u201cloo,\u201d derives from the French \u201cguardez l\u2019eau,\u201d meaning \u201cwatch our for the water.\u201d This comes from the fact that, in medieval Europe, people simply threw the contents of their chamber pots out the window onto the streets. Before throwing the waste out the window, they\u2019d yell \u201cGuardez l\u2019eau!\u201d The term \u201cguardez l\u2019eau\u201d first came to the English as \u201cgardy-loo\u201d and then shortened to \u201cloo,\u201d which eventually came to mean the toilet itself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The term \u201clatrine\u201d comes from the Latin \u201clavare,\u201d which means \u201cto wash.\u201d The earliest reference to this term being used in English goes all the way back to the mid-17th century.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The term \u201clavatory\u201d is also derived from the Latin \u201clavare,\u201d but from the Latin variation \u201clavatorium,\u201d that means \u201cwashbasin.\u201d This began to be used in English in the late 19th century.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The term \u201crestroom\u201d seems to be American in origin and came into use in the early 20th century. It comes from the notion of \u201crest\u201d referring to \u201crefreshing\u201d one\u2019s self. About the same time \u201crestroom” came into use, the British term \u201cretiring room,\u201d derived from more or less the same notion, began to be used among the upper class in Great Britain.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The term \u201ccrapper\u201d comes from the company name \u201cThomas Crapper & Co Ltd,\u201d that made toilets in Britain. American soldiers in WWI stationed in England found this funny because of the play on words with the previously existing term \u201ccrap\u201d and began calling the toilet \u201cthe crapper.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The toilet is also sometimes known as the \u201chead.\u201d Most anyone that\u2019s been in or around the Navy, uses that term. It was originally a maritime euphemism, and comes from the fact that, traditionally, the toilet on a marine vessel was located at the front of the ship (the head.) This was so that water from the sea that splashed up on the front of the boat would wash the waste away. The first known documented occurrence of the term was from 1708 by Woodes Rogers, Governor of the Bahamas. He used the word to refer to a ships toilet in the book \u201cCruising Voyage Around the World.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The movie \u201cPsycho\u201d (1960) is believed to be the first movie where a toilet is shown being flushed. (The flushing took place just before Janet Leigh\u2019s character takes a shower and subsequently gets stabbed to death.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The first toilet shown on a TV show appeared on the pilot episode of \u201cLeave it to Beaver\u201d in 1957, titled \u201cCaptain Jack.\u201d Wally and the Beaver hide a mail order baby alligator in the toilet tank. Special care was taken during the filming to only show the tank and never the seat \u2014 so as not to offend people. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
I\u2019ve alway heard that if you live in the southern hemisphere, below the equator, water spins the opposite direction when the toilet is flushed. That isn\u2019t true\u2026 the way water spins down a toilet is entirely determined by which way the jets are pointed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
At this point, this subject simply begs for one of the thousands of toilet jokes I\u2019ve heard over the years, but I\u2019ll spare you that and and take my usual high road by leaving you with something informative or something to ponder, like\u2026. if you can see the handwriting on the wall \u2014 you\u2019re on the toilet.
\u2014 30 \u2014<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A few days ago I discussed the use of the the word \u201cjohn\u201d when referring to the toilet or bathroom (among other things.) Well, obviously my mind is still in the toilet, because I got to thinking about the other … Continue reading