Health

Thomas Crapper Day: Celebrating the Invention of the Ballcock

by Jordan Yerman | January 27, 2010 at 10:27 am

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January 27 is Thomas Crapper day, commemorating the man who invented the ballcock, which is that float-triggered flushing mechanism in your toilet. Despite popular misconception, Thomas Crapper did not invent the toilet itself- flush toilets were around for about 250 years before Crapper was born.

Trained as a plumber at age 14, Thomas Crapper went on to form his own company, Thomas Crapper & Co. Ltd., which still exists.

The term "crapper" in reference to the toilet probably relates to Thomas Crapper, but the word "crap" came into the English language hundreds of years before Crapper was born. However, Thomas Crapper's invention is still in use 100 years after his death on January 27, 1910. The confluence of terms is just a happy accident of language.

Many etymologists however, do attest that the Amercian word, "crapper", for the W.C. can be directly attributed to his fame. It is certainly true that he relentlessly promoted sanitary fittings to a somewhat dirty and sceptical world and championed the 'water-waste-preventing cistern syphon' in particular.

The first practical flush toilets in England were patented in 1778 and 1852. Crapper was a strong proponent of sanitary plumbing and pioneered the concept of the bathroom fitting as showroom.