The first modern flushable toilet was invented in 1596 by Sir John Harrington who installed one for his godmother, Elizabeth I.

Occasionally, some brave knights would conduct sneak attacks by entering the castle via the shaft connected to the garderobe. Throughout history, there have been a number of famous people who died on the toilet. Several of them were stabbed from below while in the process of defecating.

These people include King Edmund II of England (30 November 1016), Jaromír Duke of Bohemia (4 November 1035), Godfrey IV Duke of Lower Lorraine (circa. 26-27 February 1076), Wenceslaus III of Bohemia (4 August 1306) and Uesugi Kenshin (19 April 1578).

  • stoyEnglish
    47·
    1 year ago

    I am not sure I agree with people calling this kind of toilet flushable…

    • brbposting@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
      17·
      1 year ago

      It’s not:

      In 1596 Sir John Harington…[described] a forerunner to the modern flush toilet installed at his house at Kelston in Somerset. The design had a flush valve to let water out of the tank, and a wash-down design to empty the bowl. He installed one for his godmother Queen Elizabeth I at Richmond Palace.

      Pictured in the OP are garderobes. Inside view’s something like:

      • stoyEnglish
        5·
        1 year ago

        Interestingly “garderob” is the Swedish word for closet

        • azertyfun@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
          2·
          1 year ago

          Nah it’s French, “garde robe” means “clothes[ancient french] holder[literally guard]”. So literally just wardrobe.

          Interesting that it became a loan word in Swedish tho, what a mindfuck. Dunno why the English borrowed it to describe toilets… I guess it does kinda look like a closet…?

      • EmoDuck@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
        4·
        1 year ago

        I know it’s not necessarily an unknown fact but he’s an ancestors of Kid Harington, aka John Snow from Game of Thrones