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| by Shorba Harkhu |
Renovations to UKZN libraries have been sporadic. We at the
Life Sciences Library were fortunate enough to have our toilets renovated
recently – an upgrade that was badly needed. The staff were excited to hear
that work was finally going to begin at the end of July this year. Campus
Management Services (CMS), and not the library undertook this project. Walls
were broken down and old pipes were removed.
We just had to cope with a bit of drilling and dust for a while, and having
to traipse down two floors for a toilet break. New pipes and toilets systems
were installed, and polished porcelain wall and floor tiles were fitted. The
walls and doors were given a new lick of paint. We also have a full-length mirror
to boot!
We are thrilled with the modern look and colour. Have a look
at the photos of the ladies toilets below.
Toilet trivia
- The first toilet was built in Mesopotamia (modern day Iraq) around 3000 BC (Wald, 2016). These non-flushing pit latrines about 4.5 metres deep were lined with a stack of hollow ceramic cylinders about 1 metre in diameter (Wald, 2016).
- Around 2000 BC one sees evidence of a flushing toilet on the island of Crete (Wald, 2016). This must have been for the elite only.
- In 1596 the first flushing toilet with a cistern was invented (Lambert, 2019). Flushing toilets were a luxury at first, and only caught on in the late 1800s (Lambert, 2019)
References
Lambert, T.
2019.A brief history of toilets Available: http://www.localhistories.org/toilets.html
Wald, C.
2016. The secret history of ancient toilets, Nature, 533 (7604). Available: https://www.nature.com/news/the-secret-history-of-ancient-toilets-1.19960
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