Quezi

Crappers' Toilet Patent -- 1893 (PD)

You’ve heard the story…right?  An Englishman by the name of Thomas Crapper invented the toilet.  In so doing, he not only put the world on the path to modern sanitation, but he also generously contributed the word crap to the English language.

True story?

Only partly.

Crapper didn’t invent, but did indeed help perfect, the modern toilet.  He was granted a patent in 1893 for an Improved Means for Operating the Mechanism of Water Closets.

As for the word crap, seems we have the Dutch, rather than Thomas to thank for that little tidbit.  The word was in use centuries before Thomas Crapper made his debut, though it was used more in the sense of dregs or residue, than in the way we use it today.  One can’t help thinking that Crapper lent it a certain modern-day je ne sais quois upon the arrival of his eponymous toilets.

Thomas was a plumber par excellence, and held several toilet-related patents as well as other plumbing patents, as did his nephew, George Crapper.

As a matter of fact, numerous Crappers have been granted patents, including:

• Jonathan Crapper — Shoemaking
• Law Benjamin Crapper — Horse Drawn Carriages
• Willy Crapper — Transformers
• Gareth Crapper — Powder Coatings

and let us not forget John Crapper for his patent, Improved Tooth Brushes For Effectually Cleansing The Teeth.

Wow!  That’s a whole lot of….you know!