Origins of Bad Words Part 3: Crap
Is crap really a bad word?
Google considers it "vulgar slang," so I'm writing an article about it.
You’ve probably heard that crap comes from the revolutionary plumber Thomas Crapper. Thomas Crapper invented the modern-day flush toilet. Since the Crapper Company logo was all over toilets, the bathroom quickly gained the nickname crapper. Short article, right?
But it is wrong… kind of— It’s partially true!
Like many misconceptions, there are elements of truth in the falsehoods and falsehoods within the truth.
Thomas Crapper was a real person. He did not invent the modern-day flush toilet we all know and love. However, he did contribute to indoor plumbing.
Mr. Crapper advocated for sanitation in Victorian England, a notoriously unclean period of history. If we lived in the mid-1800s like Mr. Crapper and had to— well, use the restroom— we’d do so in a chamber pot. Or do so directly into the neighborhood cesspool.
Literal cesspools were community landfills for human waste. However, when filled, the cesspools had to be emptied. By hand. Gross.
In short, the densely packed urban areas fostered plenty of diseases. Most residents were overworked and underfed, drastically reducing their likelihood of surviving scarlet fever, tuberculosis, or typhus. Really, any disease.
Louis Pasteur only began developing germ theory in the 1860s. It would not be accepted until later decades. We’re unsure if Thomas Crapper knew about early germ theory. However, I suspect he understood the benefits of sanitation.
Thomas Crapper & Company revolutionized sanitation!
His company premiered the world’s first public bathroom showroom.
Step right up and witness modern miracles such as the sink, the water closet, the bath, and— you guessed it— the modern-day flush toilet!
That’s partially why Thomas Crapper is so associated with the toilet: he popularized indoor plumbing.
You know that weird S-shaped pipe with the U-bend under the toilet bowl?
Thomas Crapper patented that innovation. The U-shaped bend prevents sewer gases (and smells) from entering your house through the toilet. And I thank him every day for it.
Crap vs. Crapper.
This is where etymology gets a little confusing.
Mr. Crapper being named Crapper was just a coincidence.
Crap comes from the Middle English (1100-1500 CE) word crappe. Crappe refers to chaff, the worthless materials from crops. So, the word was already associated with waste and continued in that direction during Thomas Crapper’s time.
However, the last name Crapper is a variation of the occupational surname Copper. Back in Middle English, before widespread literacy, many people’s professions became their surname. Baker, Cooper, Fisher, Mason, Miller, and Glover are all examples of occupational surnames.
Let’s jump forward to World War I. Cisterns and bathrooms are commonplace, most with the Thomas Crapper & Company logo. American servicemen quickly turned crapper into a slang term for toilet, and it stuck.
Who can we thank for the modern-day flush toilet?
The first recorded flush toilet installation was in 1596 for Queen Elizabeth I. What a luxury it must have been! However, Queen Elizabeth did not use it because she found the loud noise immodest. Seems ungrateful to me. If I were stuck in the 16th century, I would die for such a luxury.
Our modern toilets started in the 1770s before the United States really existed. There is no single inventor. Some credit Alexander Cumming (1733-1814), and others thank Joseph Bramah (1748-1814). I argue that several patents and innovations eventually accumulated into the porcelain throne we know and love today.
Where is the most expensive toilet? The answer may surprise you.
While there are $8000 toilets with high-tech gadgets and moody, LED lighting… And a solid gold toilet worth over $4 million… Neither comes close.
The most expensive toilet is on the International Space Station. Imagine using the restroom without any gravity. This toilet is specially designed to overcome zero gravity and a myriad of other engineering problems. The three restrooms on the ISS are each worth around $19 million.
So, the most expensive toilet is the most engineered toilet.
I’ve written about AI innovations, Audio-Visual systems, and solar designs. Why focus on the toilet?
We live in an interesting time of innovation. At one time, the toilet we take for granted sat on the cutting edge of technology. Don’t worry, I’ll talk about AI next week.
However, most people don’t have access to clean toilets.
UNICEF estimates that 4.5 billion people worldwide lack access to indoor plumbing. That’s around 60% of the human population. As we learned above, that’s a recipe for serious health risks. Use this link if you would like to donate.
According to an American Community Survey, over 600,000 Americans don’t have access to indoor plumbing.
We have the technology, but our economy lacks the incentive. There is a complicated mixture of factors and influences that keeps hundreds of thousands of Americans from indoor plumbing.
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