test please delete

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though i must stress that this is a rough estimate of toilet use.

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where does the term toilet come from?

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A toilet is a plumbing fixture and disposal system primarily intended for the disposal of the bodily wastes: urine and fecal matter. Additionally, vomit and menstrual waste are sometimes disposed of in toilets in Western societies. The word toilet describes the fixture and, especially in British English, the room containing the fixture. In Canadian English, the latter is euphemistically called a washroom; in American English, a restroom or bathroom. The latter term often describes a room that also contains a bath tub. A room with only a toilet and a sink is sometimes called a half-bathroom, a half bath, and a powder room.

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There are two basic types of toilets: the dry toilet and the wet toilet, the latter being the most commonly known and producer of blackwater. The dry toilet needs no plumbing for water input or evacuation, but is often coupled with some ventilation system.

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The ancient cities of the Indus Valley Civilization, e.g., Harappa[1] and Mohenjo-daro[2] which are located in present day India & Pakistan had flush toilets attached to a sophisticated sewage system[3]—and other forms of toilets were used both in the time of the Romans and Egyptians as well.[4] Although a precursor to the modern flush toilet system was designed in 1596 by John Harington,[5] the toilet did not enter into widespread use until the late nineteenth century, when it was adopted in English upper class residences.[6]

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Squat toilet as seen in some parts of Europe and Asia.



Greek squat toilet in 2008


The most common type of toilet in modern cities is the flush toilet, in which water takes away the waste through sewers to a waste treatment plant. In rural areas where sewers are not practical, septic tanks may be installed instead.
The most common design in western countries is the sitting toilet. Squat toilets are still used by the majority of the world's population.[7]

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The word "toilet" came to be used in English along with other French fashions. It originally referred to the toile, French for "cloth", draped over a lady or gentleman's shoulders whilst their hair was being dressed, and then (in both French and English) by extension to the various elements, and also the whole complex of operations of hairdressing and body care that centered at a dressing table, also covered by a cloth, on which stood a mirror and various brushes and containers for powder and make-up: this ensemble was also a toilette, as also was the period spent at the table, during which close friends or tradesmen were often received.[20] The English poet Alexander Pope in The Rape of the Lock (1717) described the intricacies of a lady's preparation:
“And now, unveil'd, the toilet stands display'd Each silver vase in mystic order laid.
”

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These various senses are first recorded by the OED in rapid sequence in the later 17th century: the set of "articles required or used in dressing" 1662, the "action or process of dressing" 1681, the cloth on the table 1682, the cloth round the shoulders 1684, the table itself 1695, and the "reception of visitors by a lady during the concluding stages of her toilet" 1703 (also known as a "toilet-call"), but in the sense of a special room the earliest use is 1819, and this does not seem to include a lavatory.[21]

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Through the 18th century, everywhere in the English-speaking world, these various uses centred around a lady's draped dressing-table remained dominant. In the 19th century, apparently first in the United States,[22] the word was adapted as a genteel euphemism for the room and the object as we know them now, perhaps following the French usage cabinet de toilette, much as powder-room may be coyly used today, and this has been linked to the introduction of public toilets, for example on railway trains, which required a plaque on the door.

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The original usages have become obsolete, and the table has become a dressing-table. Vestiges of the original meaning continue to be reflected in terms such as toiletries, eau de toilette and toilet bag (to carry flannels, soaps, etc). This seemingly contradictory terminology has served as the basis for various parodies e.g. Cosmopolitan magazine ("If it doesn't say 'eau de toilette' on the label, it most likely doesn't come from the famed region of Eau de Toilette in France and might not even come from toilets at all.")