Facts About the Toilet

Toilets in developed countries work by a flush mechanism.

Toilets are devices used in the modern world to contain or remove human excrement. In most countries throughout the developed world toilets work on a flush mechanism whereby the waste is taken away via a sewage system.

Time

According to BBC researchers, the average person spends around three years of their life sitting on the toilet and visits the toilet an average of 2,500 times a year.

Paper

The average American uses 57 sheets of toilet paper a day, which works out to a national total of 36.5 billion rolls of paper a year. That's 15 million trees according to Newsweek magazine.

History

In 1391 A.D. the first sheets of toilet paper were invented in China for the use of the emperors. They produced around 720,000 sheets every year measuring 2 feet by 3 feet.

Water Saving

Americans could save the equivalent of a lakeful of water a mile long, a mile wide and four feet deep if they flushed the toilet one less time a day.

Restrooms

The first toilet in a restroom is the least likely to be used, according to the BBC, and it is also most likely to be the cleanest.

References

• CBBC: Fun Toilet Facts
• Newsweek: Wiping is Washed Up
• Flush: Toilet Facts