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13 Surprising And Interesting Toilet Facts That Will Amaze You

The Toilets Statistics You Probably Never Knew!

Toilets – the household appliance we all have and we all use – yet we hardly ever talk about them!

While we might not realise it, the toilet is a very important part of our lives. There are many facts about toilets that most people don’t even know and they’re so interesting!

So what’s happening behind these closed doors? What’s the history of the waste disposable system? Who spends more time in the toilet – men or women? AND what about hygiene?

In this blog we are going to take a look at some weird and wonderful facts that will amaze you…

The History and Interesting Facts about the Toilet

Did you know?

1. The first flushable toilet was invented by John Harington in 1596.

  • Harington, godson to Queen Elizabeth I, created a device that called for a 2-foot deep oval bowl waterproofed with pitch, resin and wax and fed by water from an upstairs cistern.

2. Over the past 200 years, toilets have added 20 years to the human lifespan.

  • Due to the increase in better hygiene and quick removal of bacterial waste.

3. The first toilet in a row of cubicles is most likely to be the cleanest as they are used the least.

  • However, the more people that learn this?!?!

4. The average kitchen chopping board has around 200% more faecal bacteria on it than a toilet seat!!

  • (Let’s bet that most of you will jump up to go disinfect and scrub the cr*p out of yours after reading this).

5. The most expensive toilet in the world is in the international space station, costing around 19 million dollars. (WoW! Jaw drop)

  • However, in 2020 NASA sent a 23 million dollar porta-potty to the space station for testing.

6. Pomegranate studded with cloves were used as the first toilet air freshener.

  • A great natural solution.

7. The average person spends 3 whole years of their life sitting on the toilet.

  • Who is more likely to spend the most? See below about men versus women.

8. An estimated 2.6 billion people still don’t have access to toilet facilities, particularly in rural areas of India and China.

  • World Toilet Day, 19 November, is a United Nations initiative to celebrate toilets and raise awareness of the Billions of people exposed to deadly and harmful diseases due to living without access to safely managed sanitation and waste removal.

9. 75% of adults use their cell phones in the bathroom, with a mammoth 41% admitting to placing and 60% to taking calls.

  • So… if chopping boards have 200% more poo bacteria, how much is on our phones????

10. 43% of people admit to checking out the contents of the toilet before they flush. It’s always tempting!

  • Actually, your poop and your pooping activities can tell you a lot about your health. Many Doctors and health care practitioners recommend you regularly keep an eye on your “waste”

Women Versus Men – Surprising Toilet Stats

There are two types of people in this world (well almost!) Those that Fold’ their toilet paper, and those that ‘Crumple/Scrunch’ their toilet paper. Both techniques are used by both men and women so the question is, which method is more popular?

Crumpling vs folding:

11. According to a survey 52% of women crumple, and 38% of men fold. But what about the other 10%?

  • Well, 6% didn’t have a preference.
  • The remaining 4%… ummm… we’ll leave it there!!

12. Only 60% of women and 38% of men wash their hands after using the toilet.

  • INTERESTINGLY… If another person is present in the toilet the statistics went up to 90% for women, and 75% for men. Come on people! Gross…

The Big Debate – Who Spends More Time in the Toilet?

Lastly, the age-old question: Who spends the most time in the toilet – Ladies or Gentlemen?

13. It turns out according to a recent study that it is women who spend more time in the loo!

However, it’s important to point out that this fact isn’t due to sitting around, basking in their number two ambience for extended periods – Which they should do a study on that instead!!

No! The key points to why a lady is in the toilet longer are: Ladies public toilets have longer queues; monthly women cycles; most women’s clothing takes longer to unzip/unbutton/pulled down/pull up (they can’t all zip, whip, squirt, tuck and zip!); more women than men wash their hands; and then, of course, mirror time!

Key Toilet Take Away

Lastly, There you have it – some surprising, and maybe not so surprising toilet facts and stats. Did any of these shock you?

Will there be anything that you may do differently now you know these interesting points?

Things X Factor Plumbing Pty Ltd Recommends:

  • 100% wash your hands after each toilet encounter – let’s not spread toilet germs, please!
  • Disinfecting your chopping boards – before and after use!
  • Disinfect your mobile phone – maybe don’t take it with you into the toilet either?!?!
  • Check your poo more often – it can tell you a lot about your health.

Tell us in the comments if anything shocked you and let us know if you have any other interesting facts to add.

If you’re having toilet trouble and need a professional to have a look, call X Factor Plumbing Pty Ltd on 1300 091 878.

Contact X Factor Plumbing & Earthmoving