Fernand Braudel philosophy of history monograph (The history of toilet)

The history of toilet

When I was thinking of what to write about Braudel’s philosophy of history about the Longue duree which means long duration, I knew that there were some interesting topics to discuss about.

The time span of Longue duree covers not just decades but century and for Braudel, this time span is the most important time span compared to other time spans. It’s probably because Longue duree shows us and can manipulate our minds into something that is way broader than what we see in other time spans because it is so much longer than them.

The history of toilet was the idea that came into my mind when I was thinking of materials and things that have been over hundreds of years. Some might argue that the flush toilet was just invented like hundred years ago therefore toilet usage isn’t a history that should be classified as Longue duree, but I’m not specifically talking about the flush toilet but the toilet itself and how it developed over centuries.

We all know that around 3rd century B.C., Romans had an advanced bathing system. I remember reading about the Roman nobles who had their own spa inside there house. So what I’m trying to emphasize here is that the usage of toilet is something that goes way beyond the time span of what we have thought of.

During 2500 BC, the people of Harappa in India used water borne toilets which was linked to each houses. Toilets were also used in ancient Egypt and China. The first flush toilet was invented in 1596 by a man named John Harrington. And this proves to us that flush toilet is also valued as the history of Longue duree elapsing over 4 centuries of history.

The development of toilet didn’t stop by its invention. After the invention of flush toilet, First valve-type flush toiled was introduced in 1738 by J.F. Brondel. On 1885 a guy named Thomas Twyford revolutionized the toilet business in 1885 inventing the first trapless toilet in a one-piece, all in Chinese design. And later on as we all know the big companies such as Kohler, TOTO, and American Standard, globalize the usage of same toilet and bathroom system all around the world.

It is truly interesting to know the history of something that we are so familiar of, dates back to the time of B.C. There are many things around us that we don’t really pay attention to it yet contains a history that is unimaginably broad. For example chopsticks or the usage of comb is something that goes hundreds and hundreds of years, probably thousand years of history.

This is the history of Longue duree. It has lasted for many years and some of them can be as specific as a chop stick while some can be as broad as the western civilization. Because the time span of Longue duree can be used to interpret the history of any material or culture that lasted more than a century.


The history of toilet. Retrieved on October 10, 2008
From http://www.pickbrains.com/articles/toilet