The Long and Fascinating History of Toilets (Online)

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Taught by Kimberly Worsham

Kimberly Worsham is a water & sanitation (WASH) specialist in the development industry and founder of FLUSH. She discovered a passion for toilets early as a child who always needed to inspect restaurant facilities, but was reminded of that love while consulting in India, and has continued her love by working on projects in NYC, Australia, Cambodia, Ghana, and Kenya. In different lives, she has worked in local government, corporate marketing, and even taught math in Rwanda. She received her MPA and B.Sc in business at NYU, and a Masters in Integrated Water Management from the University of Queensland as an International WaterCentre Scholar.

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*This class will be hosted virtually via Zoom. Please take a few minutes to download the Zoom desktop/mobile app ahead of time at zoom.us. The meeting link will be sent the day before class.*

Contrary to popular belief, Thomas Crapper did not invent the toilet. But who did? Better yet, when did people first start using toilets? And were they anything like the toilets we know today?

This class will explore the long and fascinating history of toilets, from ancient Mesopotamia to today. We will walk through the not-so-short history and learn things like: why we should be grateful for Queen Elizabeth I, how toilets have been useful in wars, and the best reasons to visit Japan and Malaysia.

We will also learn about how even in current times, toilets are not so common as we often think they are, why that is is, and what is being done about it - from Cambodia to San Francisco. Of course, we will also tastefully touch on how you can better your toilet experience in your own home and on the road. The class will be partly interactive, so bring all of your most curious questions and taboo tales.

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