Who invented the toilet?
Sep 14, 2009
Who invented one of the most useful devices known to mankind?
While Thomas Crapper is commonly given credit for inventing the first flushing toilet in the late 1800s, the first version can actually be traced back to 1596. At this time, a British nobleman, Sir John Harrington, first engineered and invented a valve that could release water from the water closet (WC) when pulled. Sir Harrington, who was also the godson of Queen Elizabeth I, recommended pulling the valve (“flushing” the toilet) once a day for sanitary purposes.
So if Thomas Crapper didn’t invent the toilet, why is he given credit?
Three centuries after Sir Harrington’s invention, Crapper had a successful career in the plumbing industry and did earn nine patents for plumbing products in England. Unfortunately, none of those nine patents granted between 1861-1904 were for the flushing toilet.
While he did not invent the toilet, Crapper still has a close connection to the first patent for the toilet. Albert Gilblin, an employee of Crapper, holds the 1819 British Patent for a “Silent Valveless Water Waste Preventer”. This device was a system which allowed a toilet to flush effectively. Crapper later purchased the rights for this patent from his employee and marketed the device.
So even though he didn’t invent the crapper himself, we still owe a big thank you to Crapper for helping bring the product to the masses and also to the Chinese for inventing toilet paper in 50 B.C.
THNKS 4 INVENTING THE TOILET Mr.CRAPPER
wow i can’t believe that name!!!
thnx mr.crapper i love my toilet!!! it has a very soft toilet seat!!
o wow if there wasnt a toilet i would have to go on the ground
I LOVE TOILETS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
HOLY CRAP CRAAPPER THTS THE BEST THING WE COULD EVER USE THANKS CRRRRRAAAAAPPPPPEEEEEERRRRRRR
OMG, that is funny that his last name is that…i guess that is where we got the word from. ha. but that is really cool….i looked this up when we were looking up cool inventors…lol
funny stuff
crapper thats like crap funny name omg lol fm npd
im gl@d we have toliot 2daty!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
now i know why it is called the crapper.
Mr. crapper. Will u marry me ????
Someone told me that crapper invented the toilet and someone else told me it wasnt true so i looked it up and i was half right.
I told my friends and they just laughed. im so glad that i was right. now i know why i could say crap in school. lol. i love the crapper (toilet) lol
OMG know i know why most people including me call the toilet a crapper, all because of mr. crapper!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!!HEY MR. CRAPPER GO CRAP IN UR CRAPPER!!!!!!!!!!
toilet rockss
toilet rockss oh ya boobooooo
THANKS SOOO MUCH THOMAS! U ARE MY HERO!
OMG GO TOILETS AROUND THE WORLD TOILET UNITE YAY MR.CRAP GUY
Mr. Crapper is a funny name!
Im not dead yet!!!!
MLIA brought me here
)
thank for the invention,pretty cool
thank for the invent, RIP MR.CRAPPER
OMG!
i didnt even think of it before reading this post that what would i have to do if there were no toilets lol….
probably i would have to go to the open grounds or in the fields hehe
-adil
THNX FOR THE TOILET IT IS VERY HELPFUL R.I.P AND WE THANK YOU
lol i would use a bucket and a shovel if there where no toilets
first of all it is john crapper secand that is were the word crap came from
Wow! Thinks for the toliet my dear friend called the crapper…oh look I have to go use it! Thanks the for real!
omg .. i would hate to have the lastname crapper.. BRITTANY CRAPPER! xD HA!
thanks mister CRAPPER! lololololololol hahahahah that name gets me every time!
erm…why is he given credit? Well you think about it? which one sounds more awesome? we say..oh im gonna o take a CRAP we dont say oh man i think i just herrington’d my pants, you know? it just works better
Thanx soo much 4 the answer to my question! My dad & I were talking about this & boy oh boy am I thankful for Mr. Crapper. He saved our lives! Lol
hahahahahahahahahahahahaha that is so silly ” Mr Crapper” rofl
HEY
LOVE THE NAME CRAPPER
THE TOILET IS THE BEST THING WE COULD EVER HAVE! WE HAVE YOUR NAME ALL OVER OUR HOUSE!
I AM GOING TO DO MY HISTORY TALK ON YOU!!
YOUR SO COOL!!
wowww i would hav neva thought toilets where so historic.. hahahahahahaha
who invented the outhouse then????
O so thats where crapper came from and i heard that at school and i wanted 2 see if it was true but THANKU MR CRAPPER I dont no what id do with out the ”crapper”
thats a funny name i dont need a toilet i have abackyard and a shovel
the toilet is a miricle if it wasn’t for crapper i would’ve been digging holes in the back yard.
what just a name like that i would be made fun of. i still do like the toilet.
THANK U FOR MY THRONE!!
Thank you Mr. John Crapper. You are a man of the ages.
Thomas ur work is good
Yo crapper <3 the name! the toilet is the best thing that ever happened to anyone in man kind!
I LOVE MY TOILET!!!!!
lololololololololololol
hey yo. mr. crapper thanks for the throne
Lolololololololololololol!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
thanks amillion!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
is your last name Crapper cuz you invented the toilet?
hey mr. crapper thanks for the throne ours gets plugged up every once in a while but when my dad told me who invented the toylet i thought that it was invented by some person who was stupid!!!!!!!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!AND YOU SIR ARE SMART!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WOW ITS THE CRAP CRAPPER S***ER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
OMG!that is halloreus:haha me and jess where lol at that photo we said”what is that?”
What is that it looks like a crapper with a little bit of crap and leafs mixed together but hhhhhhhhhaaaaaaaaaalllllllllrrrrrrrrroooooooouuuuusssssssss any way thats awsome
love je$$
hahahahahhahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahhahahahhah
I’m his biggest fan!! My real name is Thomas Crapper. It’s not a funny name..I’m quite use to it now.
Just Kidding!! My name is Keegan(- :
even though mr.crapper is a funny name doesnt mean it is ok for u to make fun of it
Nice work, Crapper!!!!!
XD
That name is just EPIC.
Simply Epic.
-Marx Devil
I have to wonder if the slang term “crapper” was coined after Mr. Crapper, and later “crap”. So although the toilet wasn’t named after Crapper, what we do in it, is named after him.
i have to do a social studies project on who invented the toilet. so i came here
love
caleigh b.
I can’t believe Mr.Crapper is taking all the credit. Please start saying “I have to take a Herrington”!
[...] For more information on Thomas Crapper, view our recent blog post. [...]
Glad we could help!
crapper is a very funny name hahahaha that name is so funny
hahaha omg its so funny lol
is the name crapper why you invented the toilet if it is it explains a lot
nice work thomas i realy love my toilet
thanks alot mr.crapper but why steal an invention thats not yours top claim!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!??????????????????????????
ohmygod i could not live without my wonderful toilet!
im happy we don’t have to crap on the ground Mr.Crapper
thank for the invention,pretty cool,I have to do a social studies project on who invented the toilet. so i came here ,thank you sharing
That picture is the single most gross thing I have seen today. Ick. A toilet of some sort has been around for thousands of years, one with a flush though.. that’s a different story.
that toilet is all mest up. i could have invented a better one
you are soooooo awsome and your name is halarious!!!!!!!! LOL
Thomas CRAPPER is a funny name
thx mr. crapper. you made people have relief
did you read the article, it was sir John Harrington
NOT THOMAS CRAPPER.
THANKS CRAPPER IF IT WASN’T FOR ‘U’ THE BLACK PLAGUE WOULD STILL BE HERE.
THANK ‘U’!
is that where i need to take a crap came from?
billion kisses Mr. Crapper..
)
Very Exquisite
suits his name though. hahaha! CRAPPER!
jerk u stole my idea
If there weren’t any toilet? Oh crap! were would we put them…
hey;
im glad we have this toilet so i can use it when i eat something bad i can use it.
Yup this is true. This is why people say “I’m gonna use the crapper”…
Thank you Mr. Crapper
I just crapped on my crapper. Pizza poop.
i think crapping in a dirt hole and burying it would be more exciting. pooping in a toilet has just gotten lame over the years
wait i dont understand everyone says thanks mister crapper but the article above says John Harrington did it not mr. crapper
Though Thomas Crapper didn’t invent the toilet, he is part of toilet history!
that was the most hilarious name i ever heard LoL i can’t believe that he has a name like that
LOL i love the crapper
HEY CRAPPER GO CRAP IN SOMEONE ELSES CRPPER AND CRAP IN THEIR CRAPPER!!!!!!!!!!!!
good to know i’ve been wondering for years
Glad we could help Sam!
LOL crapper…….. what a suckish last name!! but i would DIE if i didn’t have a tolet in my house!! do you know why? BECAUSE IT WOULD SMELL SO FREAKIN BAD!!!!! :S
Thanks for the great post about the toilet inventor. Thomas Crapper was a great man and know I know why his last name is so popular. I’m looking forward to reading a lot more of your site in the future.
omg is that where we got the word from? ha-ha very funny lol
Crap crapper same thing but why was the toilet invented lol B)
[...] might be thankful for the invention of the toilet (Thanks to Sir John Harrington!). But did you know that 2.6 billion people (nearly half of the [...]
Thomas Crapper…
lmao
…wait if his name was Crapper ..then why do we call it a toilet?
mr. crapper i like ur idea my dad clogs that invention up every day
Mr crapper didnt invent the toilet!! sir john harrington did,
can you people read??
mr.crapper crap in your crapper
Does anyone even know if he’s American or not? I think everyone should know if the inventer of the toilet is American or not.
Love Keasha ;D
Keasha, Unfortunately, Americans can not take credit for inventing the flush toilet. Sir John Harrington was born in England. He was known as a godson to the Queen!
Well then, God save the Queen! And actually, the word toilet can have many meanings, including being a part of a woman’s dress.
[...] honor of Thomas Crapper, ToiletPaperWorld.com put our top brands of toilet paper on [...]
that is a ward name for a man
that is mean that Crapper got credit for what John Harrington did.
mr crapper took credit for somone elses work….. typical americans :p (joke) the british cant talk always steal idears hahaha so basikly.. crapper is the dr dre in the plumbing industry he made the toilet mainstream ?
Mr. crapper your so much better then Thomas Edison
all he did was make light you let people not have to crap in the ground plus I can finally say crap in school lol.
MR. CRAPPER DID NOT INVENT THE STUPID TOILET!!!!!!
HE JUST HAS A FUNNY NAME!!!
The most funny post I read for sure! Anyway, I do not want to be called Mr. Crapper!
That smelly thing is very important in one’s life.
I love the toilet. I take five craps a day and i just wanted to say thanks crapper for inventing this i use it alot and its very fun to be on while doing other stuff on it.
wow lol thanx crapper im riting my repot on you
TNX CRAPPER
Do you think Mr. Crapper had a Mrs. Crapper?
how come no says thanks to the real inventor Sir Harrington, its the whole point of the article
I love toilets thanck to Mr.Craper I love him!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
hey i just went !!! so thanks thomas crapper if it wasn’t for you id be out in the rain
dear crapper,
i just love the name!i feel like were good old friends!so for my birthday,i think you gave the toilet!!!!THANK CRAPPER U ROCK!!!!!I <3 U !!!!!
hahaha. i love his name:) <3 CRAPPER~
thank you sir harrington. if it wasn’t for you . Mr. crapper wouldn’t get any credit.
Wow. How would all of you people feel if you were being made fun of behind your back. Even though Thomas Crapper is dead he can still hear you from wherever his soul might be.
lol slum dog millionaire?
hahha for the few people who actually get that
HEY!!!! MR. Crapper im am so sorry u didnt invent the toilet!i thought u should cause ur name is AWESOME!!!!lOVE YA <3
Hehe very funny!
I just visited the toilet and really wanted to give the inventor some love for giving me a place to do all my deep thinking.
well well if it isnt crapper i love u mr crapper and i love my crapper once my cat fell in my crapper ps pablo says hi
What a fantastic story about something I never thought I wanted to know. Know I know where the word ‘crap’ comes from.
Crapper didn’t invent the flushing toilet, but neither did Harrington, the Romans invented the first one although they used spounges for toilet paper
TOO BAD HIS NAME WASN’T JOHN D. CRAPPER…..LOL
i love the toilet
thomas crapper didn’t make the flushing toilet sir john harrington did
WAT A NAME MR. CRAPPER! UR THE CRAPPER KING.
P.S. DONT OVERLOAD THE CRAPPER
omg u guys are so stupid idiots your comments are stupid “dont overload the crapper”
SIR JOHN HARRINGTON INVENTED IT IDIOTS
Lol, mr crapper craped in my crapper which means i gonna have to crap in somebody else’s crapper, which is gonna force them to crap in someone else’s crapper! CRAP!
without the toilet i couldnt go crap
A very handy & useful invention,thank you very much for making our lives easier.
OMG
Mr Crapper without the toilet I couldn’t go crap and I would have to go outside. Thanks Mr crapper.
i swear the toilet isnt that great my dad bombs it out but i do love it cause i can sing on it and i heear all of my fans thank you thomas i love you
love destiny ray cryus
Your invention in very useful, thank’s 4 inventing it I use it everyday.Just excuse me 4 a moment …
OMG how funny is the poor guys name hahahahhahahahahahahahahaha i will have 20 minutes in screaming constopaton for thomas crapper (that ame killes me)once again hahahahahhahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
i need popo
No doubt the name Crapper was just a normal name prior to this
This man needs his noble peace prize already!
I can’t believe this, Thomas Crapper? Well let me tell you, this kind of name makes more sense than ‘toilet’. Interesting how things pick up names, mostly they get named by their inventors I suppose.
I had no idea that’s where the term crap came from. That is awesome!
I swear the toilet isnt that great my dad bombs it out but i do love it cause i can sing on it and i heear all of my fans thank you.
thank crapper:)
HAHAH! mr. crapper, XD thats so funny.
Why are you all giving credit to Thomas Crapper?
All he did was steal the idea from Sir John Harrington!
Anyone can steal an idea, but not everyone can come up with a life-changing house-hold object.
Thomas Crapper, Don’t steal other peoples ideas and claim them as you own.
Enough Said.
Reply to :Jason – April 30th, 2011 at 4:57 pm
Crapper didn’t invent the flushing toilet, but neither did Harrington, the Romans invented the first one although they used spounges for toilet paper.
Well Jason Hate to Brake it to you but . YOURE WRONG
we need more Sir John harrigtons in the world to make better toilets cus mine sucks
EVERYONE IT DOESN’T MATTER WHO INVENTED IT.
WHAT MATTERS IS WE ARE FOURTUNATE ENOUGH TO HAVE TOILETS. HEAPS OF PEOPLE AROUND THE WORLD DON’T HAVE THOSE KIND OF THINGS THAT WE TAKE FOR GRANTED EVERYDAY. BE THANKFUL FOR THE LIFE YOU HAVE, YOU NEVER KNOW WHEN IT WILL END, LIVE EVERYDAY LIKE YOUR LAST AND DON’T LOOSE FAITH.
ALRIGHTPEACE
well if he did not invent it then who did
i bet if thomas crapper saw that his name was a swear word hed go OMG!!!!!!!!!!
HAHA TOMAS CRAPPER HAHA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!THATS SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOFUNNY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
OMG, i cant believe that your name is Mr.Crapper.
ROFL
Thomas Crapper? is that even real
craper didnt invent the toilet he just contributed to making it better sir john harriongton is reponsible for the invention and the flushing valve
thomas crapper lmao im glad thas not my dad
Steve Jobs had)))iToilet rulezz
nice
thomas crapper did NOT MAKE THE TOILET
he did not make the toilet
Hmm, so I guess my plan to force the change of toilets names from being Johns to Joes and calling my coffee “a cup of John” is unnecessary. I have a new respect for the name now that it makes since where it came from.
Ha, i knew it. Everyone tries saying that Thomas Crapper made the toilet.
Winning.
weird
Well, It’s my pleasure to learn about the first inventor of flush toilet. This blog really-really having huge valuable info and i appreciate your work. I wish to know more such info and more new post from you . Nice sharing .
You’re welcome!
thanxxz for the toilt
Its obvious why he was given credit, because his name is mr. crapper.
haha thats funny
omg mr.CRAPPER ¡¡¡¡¡¡¡ Ö
Best Thing Ever Invented In Man Kind!!!
Mr.crapper was the one that made the crapper
it’s not crapper
it’s john
it was john who made the pooty
then crapper took it
p.s
CRAPPER WHAT KIND OF NAME IS THAT
HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA LOL LOL LOL
This device was a system which allowed a toilet to flush effectively. Crapper later purchased the rights for this patent from his employee and marketed the device. now i know why i could say crap in school. i would hate to have the lastname crapper.Crapper is taking all the credit. Thomas Crapper was a great man and know I know why his last name is so popular. Sir John Harrington was born in England. I take five craps a day and i just wanted to say thanks crapper for inventing this i use it alot and its very fun to be on while doing other stuff on it. How would all of you people feel if you were being made fun of behind your back. Even though Thomas Crapper is dead he can still hear you from wherever his soul might be. I have a new respect for the name now that it makes since where it came from. Everyone tries saying that Thomas Crapper made the toilet. I wish to know more such info and more new post from you .NIce post, thanks for sharing
[...] customer. We hope that you will join us in our celebration of Thomas Crapper! While he is not the inventor of the toilet, he was a great plumber and helped bring about modern sanitation [...]
This reminds me of a great game called Rocket Toilet (http://gamelicker.com/arcade-game-rocket-toilet-587 )
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That toilet is really dirty just like the one at my house???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????