Photo by Ant Rozetsky on Unsplash
Urinals and the Industrial Revolution
Something many of us may not know is that urinals helped foster the Industrial Revolution
When the Industrial Revolution began in the 1800s, industrialists were putting up factories as fast as they could. They were also looking for ways to squeeze as much space out of each factory so it could be better utilized for manufacturing.
It was mostly men working in the factories at that time, and a factory could have a couple of hundred, possibly a couple of thousand, men working in it. Many large restrooms scattered throughout the building would be necessary, and all those restrooms took up a lot of space.
But then someone came up with an idea: What if we remove some toilets and installed more urinals in each restroom? That would cut the size of the restrooms significantly, creating more factory floor space. As a result, the standard restroom of the day, with rows of toilets, was eliminated. It was replaced with what we are more accustomed to seeing, a men’s restroom with a combination of toilets and urinals, which is far more space efficient.
Urinal as Art
Did you know that a urinal was once submitted to an art society as a work of art? Yup, in 1917, the French artist Marcel Duchamp submitted a urinal to the Society of Independent Artists in New York. He believed urinals should be viewed as an “artistic concept,” and not just a piece of craftsmanship to be used for a specific purpose.
To make his point, Duchamp submitted his urinal upside down. What’s more, he did not even call it a urinal; he titled it "The Fountain." Plus, get this, he signed it R. Mutt, 1917.
Was he trying to be funny? Was he making a joke of this prestigious organization, which still exists more than a century later?
Well, the New York art world certainly did not think it was a joke. According to one reviewer of Duchamp’s upside-down urinal, it:
Reflects the dynamic nature of art today and the idea that the creative process that goes into a work of art is the most important thing, the work itself can be made of anything and can take any form.
But, that’s not the end of the story. The Fountain, otherwise known as an upside-down urinal, got incorporated into a style of art now known as DADA-ism. According to one definition, this form of art is characterized by a rejection of traditional art forms, especially those of the Victorian age still popular at that time. DADA-ism is “anti-art” that throws traditions out the window. Whatever the case, now you know a urinal was once viewed as a work of art and started an art revolution to boot.
The Waterless Revolution
Unbelievably, there were not that many restroom innovations in the 20th century. True, the design of fixtures changed a little over time.
Instead of large urinals built into the wall of a restroom, smaller urinals were installed on the wall. Sensor-controlled fixtures were introduced in the 1950s, but they were not commercially available until the 1980s. Even then, their popularity was limited because they were often costly devices; they did not always work well; and they needed to be repaired frequently.
Fast forward to 1991.
Waterless Co., Inc. introduces waterless urinals to the United States. This was quite an achievement. It was not until waterless urinals were introduced that we realized just how much water was wasted flushing urinals worldwide. Billions of gallons were lost in a world where water was getting increasingly scarce.
Now we know a bit more about urinals. They helped build this country by addressing the needs of the Industrial Revolution; they were viewed as a piece of art; and now they are saving billions of gallons of water every year. I bet if toilets knew about this, boy, would they be jealous.
For more information on how to reduce water consumption, waterless urinals, and to use water more efficiently, contact a Waterless Co Specialist
