The Surprisingly Fascinating History of Public Toilets (The Toilets of Sale)

Описание: When you gotta go… you gotta go. But have you ever wondered where “spend a penny” actually comes from?

In this episode of Wicked Acorn, we plunge headfirst into the weird, wonderful, and occasionally disgusting history of public toilets.

From ancient Rome’s communal sponge-on-a-stick system (yes, everyone shared 😬) to the first modern pay-to-pee loos at the Great Exhibition of 1851, we trace how public sanitation evolved — and how it shaped society in ways you might not expect.

Did you know:

Roman public toilets were social spaces attached to bathhouses?
The first Victorian public toilets were for men only?
The suffragettes called the lack of women’s loos a “urinary leash”?
Over 800,000 people paid a penny to try the new “Monkey Closet” in 1851 — giving us the phrase *spend a penny*?

We also explore how access to toilets is now recognised as a basic human right by the United Nations — and why public toilets are quietly disappearing today.

It’s social history. It’s cultural history. It’s… toilet history.

And once you know it, you’ll never look at a loo the same way again.

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#History #PublicToilets #SpendAPenny #RomanHistory #VictorianHistory #GreatExhibition1851 #SocialHistory #HiddenHistory #WeirdHistory #BritishHistory #WickedAcorn #HistoryDocumentary #DidYouKnow #EverydayHistory