Telephonic Shower

The Egyptian Pharaoh’s were one of the first groups to invest in showering as opposed to bathing in ponds or streams. Excavations of ancient tombs and homes show stalls with a defined area and jars for water.  The Pharaoh would stand in the stall while servants poured water over them from above.  It was thought the Pharaoh’s were afraid of germs in the bath waters of other people and only pure water could be poured on them.  Though Romans liked the baths, Greeks also preferred standing under pipes which came from aqueducts with the belief that it washed the grime away and revitalized the skin.  Just as Rome affected all cultures with their beliefs in so many areas, they also affected the history of showers as most of Europe took to bathing the roman way and showers edged out of history.
The dominance of bathtubs over showers continued until the early 1800’s when English bathtub maker created the English Regency Shower, a clumsy contraption made of metal that had then been painted to look like bamboo.  The aristocracy to the time was not amused with this new invention or the complicated fact the water in it was re-circulated, and it did not catch on.  In the mid 19th century another shower emerged that had slightly more success.
When plumbing started becoming an indoor feature, the system of pipes and drains led designers to explore new ways to get clean. By the 1890’s the first showers of that era had a porcelain basin connected to a drain and a metal cage with shower heads at different locations to hit the body at every angle. A rubber curtain was pulled around the small appliance leaving a claustrophobic place to stand in. One of the early showers was Ewarts Improved Spray Baths which held 10 nozzles to spray the entire body. It became known as the needle shower because the fine spray of water felt like needles against the skin. In the early 1900’s it was determined by doctors that women simply were not meant to endure that pain and showering was bad for them.  The shower again went into decline.
During World War One many inventions came into being simply to accommodate the needs of the massive military numbers and involvement.  Wanting to conserve both water and time, showers were determined to be a better way for many soldiers to get clean in a hurry. Barracks were eventually constructed to have showers. They were so successful that after the war schools and gymnasiums also began to utilize shower technology. Showers were not found in homes until much later.
In the late 1940’s and early 1950’s western culture was still highly in favor of the bath as the optimum mode of cleaning. But two things happened that would change American views permanently. The first was a shift in how people felt about hygiene. For most of Europe and America a weekly bath was good enough.  Before indoor plumbing the effort of preparing a bath was enough to make you only want to do it once a week. After indoor plumbing and water heaters became popular it was more convenient but still the habit was to bathe once a week.  Eventually, ideas about bacteria, disease and cleanliness became part of the community of knowledge and people wanted to bath more often. Taking a bath daily added a lot of time to the routine.  The second factor in the shower’s success was men returning home from World War Two. Like the first war, showers were the main form of cleanliness for men in the barracks and they came home still wanting to take them and were not pleased with the Victorian bathtubs that still sat in their home.  It was at that time the telephonic shower head was created.
Even the wealthiest of people didn’t have showers in their homes in the 1940’s. So when a large demand went out for showering ability the hand-held, snake corded telephonic shower head complete with a pneumatic pump to run it was developed by J.L. Motts Ironworks Co.  This device would could be attached to a regular bathtub brought a first real sense of showering to western culture.  By the 1950’s countries in the third world and other highly populated regions were investing in indoor plumping and housing. The need for space was evident so those houses were built just with showers with telephonic handles to accommodate the need to for space, and the personalization of where people needed the water to hit.
Showering stayed the same until the early 1970’s when Water Pik, a company that specialized in dental care decided to use its technology for propelling water to clean teeth to propelling spurts of water which acted as a massage.  They came out with the Shower Massage, an item so popular almost every hotel and house in America had one. Eventually the large plastic telephonic nozzle with varying water speeds became big and clunky and modern telephonic heads replaces the shower massage in most bathrooms.  The need for the telephonic head is greater than ever as people want more individual say in the type and quality of their shower.
From cavemen under waterfalls to executives with chrome telephonic showers, the act of being clean has come a long way forward. Still our need for comfort, control and cleanliness survive and will be with us as time moves on.

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There are commodes that can be kept beside the bed and is useful for the elderly and sick who are unable to go to the bathroom. It can be fixed over the toilet that has already been installed as a raised chair with a hole. It helps the user to stand. Then arm rests drops away to allow the person to return to the bed without difficulty and without external help. Some commodes are extra large with a bigger area for sitting giving greater comfort and strength. It is discreet with a cover making it look like a chair.  This saves embarrassment.
The commode has met the needs of modern man. But it has raised many questions. These problems come with the invention. The seat cover of the commode might be wonderful for the back and knees but if it is not dry then a question arises about health. It is a source of infection from the seat to the skin of the user; from one user to another. But the danger is not confined to the toilet throne alone. It is prevalent even when you touch a tap or the top of a wash basin, especially in public toilets and rest rooms. The only answer seems to be personally seeing to the washing of hands. Even then the touch of the commode can not only be yucky but also dangerous. 
What happens in space? There too the brave hearts have to mount a cramped space privy where a waste-treatment plant has been installed. It looks something akin to an airlines privy. The commode components are hooked together. Inside a water closet there is a commode with double thigh-bars and restraints for the foot. Remember there is no gravity and everything seems to float. The commode works by suctioned air to pull the waste in a treatment can which is fixed below it. The trouble with zero gravity is that it is not just arms and legs but the waste will not stay put. So a suction device is a must. The waste cans look like drums. When they fill up, after every three of four weeks these are shifted to progress supply ships or trash dumpsters. When the return journey takes place these burn up.
Are flushing commodes good for our planet? Here is raised another big question by the anti-commode lobby. It is linked with recylcing and making our lives more productive as well as simple. But the issue might be uncomfortable to those who do not know where the human waste goes once it has been flushed out of our sight. Composting toilets are now being introduced or rather the attempt is being made to make it popular. It is not the old fashioned pit style toilet. There is a wide range. There is the simple one with twin chambers and the advanced type with tynes that rotate. To it are fitted temperature and moisture controlling tools that are electronically operated. These are excellent converters of human waste to biological use. The best point is that it is cheap for the individual as well as the community. It saves on energy and has a positive aspect on fertilizing the earth back to its natural richness.
 
In Asia too commodes have become very popular during the past few decades. In the core city area the sewerage system flushes away the waste to a convenient distant spot where it is often used as manure. Calcutta has the best recycling process of human waste in the world. In the suburbs there is an underground septic tank which has to be cleaned in cyclical order. 
The most serious charge brought against commodes is that while it may be alright for the sick and the old, the posture of sitting on the chair-like commode is not natural and good for long term health. Apart from infections it might lead to chronic constipation because enough pressure is not exerted on the lower abdomen. 
 
 
 

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