Did you know that there is a museum for toilets in India?
We have seen museums on a variety of subjects, but one dedicated to toilets is quite tough to imagine, isn’t it? Well, our country boasts of this weird creation! On Time magazine's 2014 list of the top 10 weirdest museums in the world, India's Sulabh International Museum of Toilets took a coveted 3rd place. Imagine a museum full of all sorts of toilets and their parts on display – metal, ceramic, plastic, and what not!
Sulabh International Museum of Toilets is in New Delhi, India. It was established in 1992 by Dr Bindeshwar Pathak, a social activist who was a pioneer of the Sulabh Sanitation and Social Reform Movement. He has won numerous national and international honours, including the Stockholm Water Prize in 2009.
Objective of the Toilet Museum
The very first question that pops to mind is that why was a museum like this built at all? Well, the reasons are more than one. Let us take you through them.
- To instruct students about the historical developments in the development of toilets
- To help researchers understand various designs, materials, and technology used in the past as well as currently
- To serve as a technology warehouse and assist manufacturers of toilet equipment and accessories in improvising their products.
- To assist experts in sanitation in learning from the past and resolving issues in this vital hygiene sector.
What does the Sulabh International Museum of Toilets exhibit?
There are many pictures in the museum that show how the world seemed before the creation of the water closet (W.C.) and the changes that it has brought. It also displays the gold and silver toilet pots that the Roman emperors previously used. Some of the unique offerings of the museum among others include documentation of the flush pot devised in 1596 by Sir John Harrington and a courtier (1561-1612) during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I (Queen of England and Ireland from 1558-1603).
History and evolution of toilets
In around 2500 BC, the earliest traces of a sewage system and toilet were discovered in northern India and Pakistan. When it comes to house planning, the Indus Valley Civilization was ahead of its time. It was the only civilisation that had a separate chamber for urinating and a highly developed drainage system where wastewater from each house flowed into the main drain.
The sanitation system and toilets have truly evolved over the centuries. Let’s see how.
Sand-filled toilets: Around 2500 BCE, ancient Egyptians used toilets filled with sand. These toilets were designed specifically keeping water conservation in mind. People would relieve themselves into containers filled with sand, which would be later cleaned by servants.
Pig toilets in China: Starting around 200 BC, during China’s Han Dynasty, rural areas often employed pig toilets. A pig toilet, as the name suggests, consists of an outhouse that is positioned above a pigsty into which it drops its waste. The waste was subsequently consumed by the pigs in addition to their regular diet. Pig toilets were a reliable method of disposing waste in places where plumbing was underdeveloped.
Easy-to-flush latrines: Romans built easy-to-flush latrines during the 2nd century BC. In the medieval Roman castles, there were specialised halls. But instead of bathrooms, they were termed ‘garderobes’.
Chamber pots: Chamber pots were used in ancient Greece around the 6th century BC. They were made particularly to hold sewage that was later dumped into swimming pools or carelessly flung out of windows.
Flush toilets: Sir John Harington invented flush toilets in the late 16th century. According to Harington, the device was an ‘elevated cistern’ that eliminates waste by pulling a chain and dumping water into the toilet bowl.
Dry toilets: As the population increased sharply during 1800s, infectious diseases also increased due to poor sanitary conditions. The prevalent contagious illness at the time was cholera, whose spread was facilitated by a subpar sanitation infrastructure. As a result, a dry toilet was developed to allow people to use the toilets without using water for the flushing system. Instead, it would employ peat as a covering layer to absorb the liquid or divert trash. These toilets were invented by an English priest named Henry Moule in 1873.
Refined flush toilets: The use of flushable toilets did not really take off until the 18th century. Together, English inventor John Braham and Scottish inventor Alexander Cumming created the sophisticated plumbing devices that contributed to the development of the flushing toilet we use today.
Toilets made of gold and silver
In 2001, a luxurious toilet made of solid 24-carat gold and coated with diamonds was made by communist politician, Winger Lam Sai-wing (a jeweller in Hong Kong). The toilet on display at the Hong Kong showroom of Hang Fung Gold Technology is presently valued at more than $29 million. Designer Lam Sai-wing said that he was inspired by Soviet leader Vladimir Lenin’s (Russian political theorist, 1870-1924) declaration that when a communist revolution swept over the world, there would be public toilets made of gold.
This toilet is registered by ‘The Guinness Book of Records’ as the most expensive in the world. Along with the toilet, everything in the restroom surrounding it, including the sink, tiles, and doors, all are made of solid gold.