Toilet

A toilet is a sanitation fixture used primarily for the disposal of human urine and feces. They are often found in a small room referred to as a toilet/bathroom/lavatory. Flush toilets,


 which are common in many parts of the world, may be connected to a nearby septic tank or more commonly in urban areas via "large" (3–6 in or 7.6–15.2 cm) sewer pipe connected to a sewerage pipe system. The water and waste from many different sources is piped in large pipes to a more distant sewage treatment plant. Chemical toilets are used in mobile and many temporary situations where there is no access to sewerage, dry toilets, including pit toilets and composting toilet require no or little water with excreta being removed manually or composted in situ.


Ancient civilizations used toilets attached to simple flowing water sewage systems included those of the Indus Valley Civilization, e.g., Harappa[1] and Mohenjo-daro[2] which are located in present day India and Pakistan[3] and also the Romans and Egyptians.[4] Although a precursor to the modern flush toilet system was designed in 1596 by John Harington,[5] such systems did not come into widespread use until the late nineteenth century.[6] Thomas Crapper was one of the early makers of toilets in England. Diseases, including cholera, which still affects some 3 million people each year, can be largely prevented when effective sanitation and water treatment prevents fecal matter from contaminating drinking water supplies.