Toilet: The Origin of Stuff - Episode 6

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