Thunder, Flush and Thomas Crapper: J
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Chapters: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P R S T U V W Y Z
Extracts from Adam Hart-Davis's book.
(Buy the book from Micheal O'Mara Books, ISBN 1-85479-250-4 (Amazon.co.uk),
hardback 1-85479-245-8 (Amazon.co.uk),
or in the US, ISBN 1570760810 from Amazon.com.)
- Jakes
-
Jakes was the normal word for lavatory or privy from the sixteenth century
to the eighteenth. In King Lear II ii 74--6 Shakespeare wrote ``I will
tread this unbolted villain into mortar, and daub the wall of the jakes
with him.'' The origin is obscure, but may be from Jaques' or Jack's
house; see Harington.
- Japan
-
`Japanese-style' lavatories, designed for squatting
rather than sitting, look rather like bidets sunk into the floor,
and have been called `bombsites' by occidental travellers.
However, the world's most advanced `western-style' lavatories
are also made in Japan.
- Jersey
-
The Territorial Army unit on the Channel Island of Jersey was looking for a
useful community exercise in 1992; so at the request of the Customs and
Excise Department they built a new water-tank and lavatory alongside the
customs hut on the Ecrehous, a chain of rocky islets between the north-east
coast of Jersey and France. It was the first flushing lavatory on the
Ecrehous, and it raised a mighty stink among those with holiday retreats
there. Brigadier Raoul Lempriere-Robin is quoted as saying ``Why can't
they make do with an Elsan? ... The toilet is now the grandest structure
on the Ecrehous... To put it bluntly, it has been a bugger's muddle all
along.''
^UP^ to Thunder, Flush and Thomas Crapper index.
Chapters: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P R S T U V W Y Z
Text extracts from ``Thunder, Flush and Thomas Crapper'' copyright Adam Hart-Davis 1997.
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Site content copyright Damon Hart-Davis 1997--2008 unless otherwise stated.
