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Discovery: The Origin of Stuff: Toilet

Magazines & Reviews

Toilet

06/07/2020 GMT

The Origin of Stuff

BBC World Service - Discovery, The Origin of Stuff, ToiletSearch BBC

Katy Brand reveals how attitudes to the toilet have shaped it's place in history.

The toilet may be an everyday object, but public conveniences are disappearing & billions worldwide don't have their own. Katy Brand asks how much our embarrassment is to blame

You may call it the toilet, the loo, the privy, the potty, the can or even the bathroom, but whatever you call it, this everyday object has its roots in Bronze Age Pakistan. It even had a seat!

But how did the toilet come to be? Given one third of the world’s population still live without one, how much is our embarrassment around toilet habits to blame? And what scientific developments are underway to help make them truly universal?

Water and Sanitation Expert, Alison Parker, from Cranfield University believes part of the solution lies in a waterless toilet which creates ash, water from the waste it receives, and the energy it needs to operate, from the waste it receives.

Even in the UK, we don’t always have access to a toilet when we need one. Over the past decade, the number of public conveniences has dropped by a half, leaving older people and the disabled, who may need easy access, unable to leave their homes. Raymond Martin, Managing Director of the British Toilet Association, hopes to stop our public conveniences going down the pan.

Also featuring resident public historian Greg Jenner.

Producer: Beth Eastwood

Picture: Bathroom/Getty Images

Discovery: The Origin of Stuff

Katy Brand explores the origins of stuff.

Katy Brand explores the life of the toothbrush. Despite its humble start as a tooth cleaning stick, she reveals how ingenuity and innovation have ensured its place in our lives.

What is the most personal item you own - one you don’t want anyone else using?
 
For Katy Brand it’s her toothbrush. So how did the toothbrush become one of life’s essentials?
 
With the help of public historian, Greg Jenner, Katy goes back to ancient times, when the toothbrush was merely a stick. But the brush, as we know it, only came into being much later when a convict spied a broom in his cell and had a bright idea.
 
But how has ingenuity and innovation shaped the toothbrush and ensured its place in our lives? And given most are plastic, how environmentally friendly is the toothbrush’s legacy?
 
Featuring designer and toothbrush collector, Sophie Thomas, and advocate for clean teeth, Peter Dyer, Chair of Hospital Dentists at the British Dental Association.

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