The word derives from the Latin for lead, plumbum, since the first effective pipes used in Roman times were lead pipes. The first plumbing pipe was made of baked clay and straw, while the Egyptians manufactured the first copper pipes. Public toilets were nothing new for George Jennings, a Brighton plumber, who installed his so-called “monkey closets” in the retirement rooms of the Crystal Palace. However, going back even further in the history of plumbing, archaeologists discovered the first water pipes in the Indus River, in India, which date from 4000 to 3000 BC.
C. The Renaissance introduced new independent thinking and, therefore, a new interest in hygiene, and thus began a firm march towards interior plumbing. The National Public Health Act is passed in England, becoming a model to follow in plumbing codes for the rest of the world. Another ancient contribution to modern plumbing is that of the Egyptian ruler Menes, who supported a thriving civilization by building canals, irrigation ditches, and basins in roughly the same period as India's plumbing system.
In the mid-1930s, uniform plumbing codes were enacted along with acceptable manufacturing standards for plumbing products. After the fall of the Roman and Greek empires, plumbing technology and its advances were paralyzed in Europe until many decades later. The Romans were really advanced in their plumbing systems, since they had aqueducts, underground sewers, public baths, bronze and lead piping systems, and even marble fittings. In 1874, an anonymous plumber left a drawing of a house that had been suffering from the effects of gases inside and the solution to the problem that other homes could use.
The history of plumbing is very long, so the next time you enter your bathroom, remember that the accessories you use have been developed over thousands of years. In the United States, the Energy Policy Act is passed to reduce water flows in plumbing fixtures in order to conserve water and energy.
Leave Message