Thunder, Flush & Thomas Crapper: An Encycloopedia

by Adam Hart-Davis

Thunder, Flush and Thomas Crapper is a dictionary of all things lavatorial, from the Abbot of St. Albans (allegedly the first Englishman to have a W.C., c. 1115) to the zero-gravity loo (as featured in the film 2001: A Space Odyssey ), by way of the dog toilet, the night-soil men who took away the sewage in the streets, and the superloo, successor to the pissoir. Meticulously researched and packed with information (as well as plenty of humor), this is a book that everyone should keep by their loo. The author of this book is a very well-known writer and broadcaster. This title includes numerous illustrations.

Genres: Nonfiction, Humor

192 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 1997

About the author

British photographer, writer and broadcaster.

Reviews

[dirt · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had never thought about toilets in submarines until I read this book, now I cannot stop.

The staggering amount of euphemisms that humans have come up with for relieving oneself demonstrates a level of human ingenuity surpassed only by our invention of double-trap siphonic action.

This review would be longer, but I have to go shake hands with an old friend.

[Kevin Burke · Rating 3 out of 5]

A short but fun look at going to the toilet through history. It's in encyclopaedia form, so while it's never going to be a flowing page-turner, there's still more than enough to entertain, from toilets in space and on submarines, through the development of earth closets and water toilets, to toilet deaths in film and real life, and toilet history among the Eskimos, the Chinese (and their bottomless trousers for babies), the Japanese (and their musical toilets), the mediaeval Europeans and the ancient Romans, and why softer toilet tissue is a good thing (complete with weird ads of the time).

Some choice takeaways - Thomas Crapper didn't invent the flushing toilet (but there's plenty of manholes in England with his name on them), Herculaneum has a toilet with graffiti saying "Apollonius, physician of Emperor Titus, had a good crap here", and urine doesn't short out space craft circuitry.

[Stephanie R. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was surprisingly entertaining. It is all about toilets and how they have evolved over time, different types of toilets for different locations (submarines, space, etc.), and much more. There is even a segment with a list of the most significant times toilets have been in movies, which is not very long because usually people in movies never have to use the facilities.

[Carrie Turner · Rating 4 out of 5]

I might never be done with this book. I read it in the bathroom and just pick pages out of it to read by flipping it open randomly. Good stuff. Glad I bought it.

[Eddie · Rating 5 out of 5]

162 pages about toilets? Actually very fascinating a tremendously appropriate bathroom reader. Very interesting and worth the read.