A brief history of toilets - Francis de los Reyes

譯者: Lilian Chiu 審譯者: Coco Shen

On sunny days, the Roman citizens of Ostia

晴天時，奧斯蒂亞的羅馬公民

could be found on a long stone bench near the Forum.

會坐在廣場附近的長石凳上。

Friends and neighbors exchanged news and gossip

朋友和鄰居會交流新聞和八卦，

while simultaneously attending to more... urgent business.

同時也在做更……急迫的事情。

These public latrines could sit up to 20 Romans at a time,

這些公共廁所能同時 容納二十名羅馬人。

draining waste in water conduits below.

廢水會被排放到下方的水管。

Today, most cultures consider trips to the restroom to be a more private occasion.

現今，大部分的文化認為 去洗手間是屬於比較私人的事情。

But even when going alone, our shared sewage infrastructure

但，就算是單獨前往， 我們共同的汙水設施

is one of the most pivotal inventions in the history of humanity.

仍然是人類史上最重要的發明之一。

While many ancient religious texts contain instructions

雖然在許多古老宗教的文獻中有指示

for keeping waste away from drinking water and campsites,

要讓廢水遠離飲用水及營地，

waste management took a more familiar shape as early as 3000 BCE.

但要到西元前三千年，我們現今 熟悉的廢水管理才開始成形。

Ancient Mesopotamian settlements often had clay structures

在古時美索不達米亞的定居地 通常都會有一種泥土構造，

made for squatting or sitting in the most private room of the house.

位在屋內最隱蔽的地方， 供蹲姿或坐姿使用。

These were connected to pipes which used running water to move waste

這些構造和水管連結，

用自來水將廢水帶到 街上的水渠和糞坑裡。

into street canals and cesspits.

Water infrastructure like this flourished in the Bronze Age,

青銅器時代是這類 水利設施的頂盛時期。

and in some parts of the Indus Valley,

在印度河流域的某些地方，

nearly every house had a toilet connected to a citywide sewage system.

幾乎每間房子都有一間廁所， 與全市的汙水系統相連。

Ancient Cretan palaces even offered a manual flushing option.

古時的克里特宮殿還有 可以手動沖水的廁所。

Researchers can’t say for certain what inspired these early sewage systems,

研究者無法十分肯定 早期汙水系統的靈感來自何處。

but we do know that waste management is essential for public health.

但我們確實知道，廢水管理 對於公共衛生十分重要。

Untreated sewage is a breeding ground for dangerous microorganisms,

沒有處理好的汙水系統 會成為危險微生物的溫床，

including those that cause cholera, dysentery, and typhoid.

包括造成霍亂、痢疾， 及傷寒的微生物。

It would be several millennia before scientists fully understood

要到數百年之後，科學家才完全了解

the relationship between sewage and sickness.

汙水和生病之間的關係。

But the noxious odors of sewage have recorded associations with disease

但早在西元前一百年就有記載

as early as 100 BCE.

汙水的難聞氣味與疾病有關。

And by 100 AD, more complex sanitation solutions were emerging.

到了西元一百年，更複雜的 衛生解決方案出現了。

The Roman Empire had continuously flowing aqueducts

羅馬帝國就有持續流動的導水管，

dedicated to carrying waste outside city walls.

專門用來將廢水送到城牆外。

Chinese dynasties of the same period also had private and public toilets,

中國同時期的王朝也有 私人廁所和公共廁所，

except their waste was immediately recycled.

不過他們的廢水馬上就會被回收。

Most household toilets fed into pig sties,

大部分的家庭廁所 會把廢水排到豬欄內，

and specialized excrement collectors gathered waste from public latrines

專門收集糞便的人則會 從公共廁所收集排泄物

to sell as fertilizer.

當成肥料來銷售。

In China, this tradition of waste management continued for centuries,

這種廢水處理的傳統 在中國持續了數百年，

but in Europe the fall of the Roman Empire

但在歐洲，羅馬帝國的隕落

brought public sanitation into the Dark Ages.

讓公共衛生進入了黑暗時代。

Pit latrines called “gongs” became commonplace,

稱為「gong」的坑式廁所普及，

and chamber pots were frequently dumped into the street.

把便壺拿到街上傾倒 也是司空見慣的事。

Castles ejected waste from tall windows into communal cesspits.

城堡把廢水從高處的窗戶 朝社區的糞坑倒。

At night, so-called gong farmers would load up the waste

晚上，所謂的坑式廁所農夫 要裝載大量排泄物

before traveling beyond city limits to dump their cargo.

並運到城市外去缷貨。

Europe's unsanitary approach persisted for centuries,

在歐洲，這些不衛生的方式 持續了數百年，

but toilets themselves underwent some major changes.

但廁所本身發生了重大的改變。

By the late Middle Ages, most wealthy families had commode stools—

到了中世紀末，大部分 有錢人家都有坐式馬桶——

wooden boxes with seats and lids.

在木廂中有座椅和蓋子。

And in the royal court of England,

在英格蘭的皇家法院，

the commodes were controlled by the Groom of the Stool.

有廁所侍從來管理坐式馬桶。

In addition to monitoring the king’s intestinal health,

除了監控國王的腸道健康，

the Groom’s... intimate relationship with the monarch

侍從與君主的……親密關係

made him a surprisingly influential figure.

意外讓他成為很有影響力的人物。

The next major leap in toilet technology came in 1596,

廁所技術的下一個大躍進 出現在一五九六年，

when Sir John Harrington designed the first modern flush toilet

約翰哈林頓爵士為伊麗莎白皇后 設計了第一個現代沖式馬桶。

for Queen Elizabeth.

Its use of levers to release water and a valve to drain the bowl

透過槓桿來放水並用閥門 將排泄物排出的方式

still inform modern designs.

仍然是現代馬桶設計的參考。

But Harrington’s invention stank of sewage.

但哈林頓的發明 讓汙水系統產生惡臭。

Thankfully, in 1775, Scottish inventor Alexander Cumming

好在，在一七七五年時， 蘇格蘭發明家亞歷山大卡明

added a bend in the drainpipe to retain water and limit odors.

把排水管加上了一個彎道 來保留一些水並控制氣味。

This so-called S-trap was later improved into the modern U-bend by Thomas Crapper—

後來，這種所謂的 S 型彎管

被湯瑪斯克拉普（Crapper） 改良為現代的 U 管——

though the term “crap” predates the inventor by several centuries.

不過「大便（crap）」一詞 出現的時間比這位發明早了數百年。

By the turn of the 19th century,

到了十九世紀末，

many cities had developed modern sewage infrastructure

許多城市都開發出了 現代的汙水處理設施

and wastewater treatment plants,

以及廢水處理廠，

and today, toilets have a wide range of features,

現今有各式各樣的馬桶，

from the luxurious to the sustainable.

從奢侈的到永續的都有。

But roughly 2 billion people still don’t have their own toilets at home.

但大約有二十億人 家中沒有自己的廁所。

And another 2.2 billion don’t have facilities

另外還有二十二億人

沒有相關場所設施 來妥當處理他們的廢水，

that properly manage their waste,

putting these communities at risk of numerous diseases.

讓這些社區要承受多種疾病的風險。

To solve this problem, we’ll need to invent new sanitation technologies

若要解決這個問題， 我們必須要發明新的衛生技術

and address the behavioral, financial, and political issues

並處理沿著整條衛生管線

造成不平等的各種行為、 財務，及政治議題。

that produce inequity throughout the sanitation pipeline.