1971: A major breakthrough occurs as the toilet is finally allowed to perform its function. The first flush is heard, but not seen, on a first-season episode of "All in the Family." TV's first flusher is, of course, Archie Bunker.
First toilet - "Leave It to Beaver"
In addition to pregnancy and death being taboo subjects, so were bathrooms. The first toilet to appear on screen happened on Leave It to Beaver in 1957, when the kids buy a pet alligator and hide it in the toilet tank.
The first time we heard a toilet flush on TV was during an episode of “All in the Family,” a groundbreaking sitcom from the 1970s. This show didn't shy away from controversial topics, and while a flushing toilet seems laughable today, back then it was a relatively surprising and even shocking event.
It was actually 300 years earlier, during the 16th century, that Europe discovered modern sanitation. The credit for inventing the flush toilet goes to Sir John Harrington, godson of Elizabeth I, who invented a water closet with a raised cistern and a small downpipe through which water ran to flush the waste in 1592.
Flush toilets were introduced in the 1890s. William Elvis Sloan invented the Flushometer in 1906, which used pressurized water directly from the supply line for faster recycle time between flushes. The Flushometer is still in use today in public restrooms worldwide.
Between 1900 and 1910, the early washout closets were replaced by more efficient washdown and siphon-jet models; high tanks transitioned to low tanks; and ornamentation—besides the occasional tasteful beading—virtually disappeared in favor of smooth, white, sanitary (i.e., easy to keep clean) surfaces.
Ivory and pastel toilets and sinks came first, joined during the 1930s by fixtures in orchid and mauve, Ming green and peach. The colors kept coming: baby blue, candy pink, butter yellow, lavender, and black. In the 1940s, red, burgundy, and navy blue were introduced.
The flush toilet was invented in 1596 but didn't become widespread until 1851. Before that, the “toilet” was a motley collection of communal outhouses, chamber pots and holes in the ground.
Water closet and W.C. were common euphemisms then, coming after crapper became tainted. Toilette was a fancy word for a wash-up; one made one's toilette. Toilet, bathroom, and bowl are later euphemisms, after W.C. was retired.
The outhouse of the 1770s was known as a “necessary,” or a “privy.” Benjamin Franklin's brick-lined “privy pit” is even marked at the spot of his former Philadelphia residence of 1787. Several years ago, sanitation was voted as the world's biggest medical advancement since 1840.
The first Hollywood movie to feature an on-screen toilet was Alfred Hitchcock's slasher classic Psycho (1960). Earlier films had shied away from following characters into the bathroom, and even alluding to such distasteful activities had been strongly discouraged since the adoption of the Hays Code in the mid-1930s.
"A Royal Flush" is the fifth Christmas special episode of the BBC sitcom, Only Fools and Horses, first screened on 25 December 1986. It was re-edited into a shorter version with added laughter track and released on DVD in 2004.
In the 1880s, spurred by public health reformers and a growing acceptance of “germ theory,” municipalities across the nation installed water and sewage systems. Flush toilets increasingly became more common. Wash-out water closets of the era had under-floor traps and dry bowls that often leaked odorous sewer gases.
1965: First use of the f– word on TV is on 13 November 1965 by literary agent Kenneth Tynan (UK) during a satirical discussion show entitled BBC3.
Yes, believe it or not, "Psycho" is widely regarded to be the first Hollywood movie to show an onscreen toilet flush. Scenes featuring the humble lavatory were often discouraged by the Production Code Administration, something that Hitchcock fell foul of earlier in his career.
Television's first drama,The Queen's Messenger, is broadcast from Schenectady, New York station WGY on September 11, 1928.
Outhouses were in use in cities of developed countries (e.g. Australia) well into the second half of the twentieth century. They are still common in rural areas and also in cities of developing countries.
The word toilet is French in origin and is derived from the word 'toilette', which translates as 'dressing room', rather than today's meaning. Toilette itself has its roots in another word; 'toile', which means 'cloth'. This cloth would be draped over someone while their hair was being groomed.
Leaves, sticks, moss, sand and water were common choices, depending on early humans' environment. Once we developed agriculture, we had options like hay and corn husks. People who lived on islands or on the coast used shells and a scraping technique.
Before the advent of modern toilet paper many different materials were used for the same purposes. Different materials were used depending upon the country, weather conditions, social customs and status. People used leaves, grass, ferns, corn cobs, maize, fruit skins, seashells, stone, sand, moss, snow and water.
Rich Europeans used wool, hemp or even lace. But commoners used whatever cloth they had including their sleeves. Yikes. The first mention of toilet paper appeared in Europe in the 16th century in a text by Rabelais.
The 1920's saw the start of showers being used in homes throughout the USA, however, some rural homes didn't have indoor running water until the 1950/1960's.
Interesting enough, according to the BBC Primary History site, there were no bathrooms in the Viking home. Most people probably washed in a wooden bucket or the nearest stream. Instead of toilets, people used cesspits, which are holes dug outside for toilet waste.
1930 bathroom style interior
A typical 1930s bathroom is often a nostalgic bathroom with a vintage touch. The basis of the bathroom consists of 1930s tiles in a chess pattern. These are often black and white tiles, but mint green is also a popular choice.