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On the Throne
A toilet in a castle was known as a garderobe. Located next to the master’s bedchamber, the garderobe was private and convenient. Waste dropped directly into a cesspit or the castle’s moat below.
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First Flushing Toilet
Sir John Harington of Somerset, England, was a 16th-century author, poet and godson of Queen Elizabeth I, who temporarily banished him from her court for writing risqué stories. While in exile in 1596, his thoughts continued to dwell on unclean things, resulting in the invention of the first flushing toilet, which he called the “Ajax.”
With that large, straight discharge pipe, Harington’s toilet appears a lot less prone to clogging than today’s. Here are 12 things you should never flush down the toilet.
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