Reinventing The Loo

I don't know how many people bother to be grateful about having flush loos, whatever the design. But we should. Quite apart from clogging up sewers in our so-called civilized countries, some 2.5 billion people are without access to the now venerable technology, and must use simple latrines, holes in the ground or just whatever spot they can find. And this, as we know, spreads often-killer diseases apart from being hugely uncomfortable.

I was therefore so interested to see from an article in The New York Times on August 13th by Anne Eisenberg, that the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation have given $3 million to researchers at 8 universities challenging them to create new loos that need not be connected to sewers, or to water or to electricity lines and that should cost less than pennies per person per day to run.

One of the new ideas already on show is a compact chamber that runs on solar power from a roof panel. It was developed by the California Institute if Technology in Pasadena and cost $400,000 to develop. Obviously it will need to be mass marketed to the nth degree to end up costing less than pennies per person, let alone creating enough roofs and panels, but still, its at least a good start in loo reinvention.

Years ago I wrote a history of the bathroom and was fascinated by the long and checkered tale of the lavatory from the passable early Egyptian, Greek, Islamic and Roman attempts which were only to regress in the murk of the Saxon, Norman and Medieval period. Truly the dark - and dirty - ages. Most people think that the first prototype flushing loo was created in the 19th century in Victorian England by a Mr Crapper (hence the slang ). But a reasonably well working flushing variety was actually invented in the 16th century in England, in Queen Elizabeth 1's time. But was turned down as unsuitable or unfeasible. I never did find out why. Now, thanks to the charitable Gates we are finally about to see huge changes some five centuries on. We really cannot say now that 'Plus ca change etc.......'