20 Interesting and fun facts about plumbing

Dedicated and great plumbers are often taken for granted and looked down upon. The truth is, without a good plumbing service our lives would be much harder to maintain our homes and facilities. plumbing Houston is a symbol of a great plumbing service. Since the plumbing industry has such a huge history, there are also a lot of interesting facts about it.

Here is the list of the most memorable and fun facts about plumbing.

1. The World’s oldest sewer system is made 4000 BCE, located in the ruins of a palace in India. There is also evidence of plumbing in the Pyramid of Cheops in Egypt. Read more about it here.
2. The first underground sewer system was made in New York City after the people of New York complained about the smell that is coming from open sewers.
3. The word “plumber” is directly connected with the Latin word “plumbum” that means “lead”. In the ancient Rome people who worked as plumbers were called “Plumbarius”.
4. Sir John Harington was the man who invented the toilet. His invention had a water tank that would release the water upon pulling the flush valve.
5. Plumbing community loved Einstein because of his statement that if he could choose his profession once again, he wouldn’t be a scientist or a physicist, but rather a plumber.
6. The World’s most expensive toilet costs $19 million and it is located in the ISS. This toilet travels the world couple of times a day with the ISS and it sucks waste and then converts it to drinking water. It may seem gross but it is effective and high-quality.
7. If you are able to install a low-flush toilet in your home, just do it! It will save roughly around 70.000 liters of water per year!
8. It is estimated that an average person spends three years of his/her life on the toilet.
9. The copper piping that was used by the ancient Egyptians to lay their pipes is still used to this day in plumbing.
10. Alexander Cummings has patented the first flushing toilet back in 1775.
11. It is considered that Thomas Crapper was an inventor of the toilet, but the evidence shows that King Minos had a closet with flushing water 800 years before Christ.
12. When you are taking a shower, don’t set your water at more than 50 degrees Celsius. Temperatures over 50 degrees will burn your skin really fast, and a temperature of 70 degrees will melt you in seconds.
13. The mechanism that controls the flow of the water in your water tank is called ballcock.
14. In case you notice that your faucet is leaking as little as two drops per minute, consider changing it. You will do good for the Earth and for yourself, by changing the leaking faucet you will save up to 3 liters of water per week.
15. One of the most, if not the most popular game in the World “Super Mario Brothers” has two main characters, Mario and Luigi. In case you didn’t know, these funny brothers that have a mission to save the princess are both plumbers. Real heroes!
16. Some people say that flushing a toilet in Southern Hemisphere would cause the water to go upwards. This is a myth and it is definitely not true, do not believe this.
17. If you insulate the pipes at your home, the water will stay warmer in the pipes and you will have to wait for less for the warm water to come through your faucet. Doing this will also save you some money on your bills.
18. The manhole covers were designed in the way that they can’t fall through an opening even if you turn them sideways.
19. A man from Britain, William Congreve, designed and invented the first fire sprinkler. He installed a valve outside his home and made holes in pipes on the ceiling.
20. The first hotel ever that had indoor plumbing was located in Boston and name The Tremont Hotel.

These plumbing facts are not going to change your life, but will maybe change the way you think about plumbers and plumbing. This industry has a huge history and many interesting facts about it and we should appreciate it for what it is offering us.