The History of Showers

The History of the Shower Every morning we groggily climb out of bed, walk like a zombie to the bathroom and climb into the shower. The soothing warm water instantly revives and refreshes us, making us ready for the day ahead and getting rid of any grubbiness. Some of us shower before we go to bed, but whatever we do we can all agree that a shower is indispensable for our daily quick washing needs. As such we now take our electric showers - some packed full of fancy technological features - for granted, but what did people in the past do when it came to having a shower? Well, they still washed, but they just did it in different ways. So, come with us on a journey that will cleanse the mind, body and soul.. THE HISTORY OF THE SHOWER. DON'T GO CHASING WATERFALLS The shower as a Using a waterfall was far more efficient means of washing has been around a lot than bathing in a bath, as this would require the user to gather and transport the water first. When waterfalls longer than you might think, and even early man wanted to keep himself clean (although it's doubtful he was slapping on the aftershave to impress the ladies). Early weren't nearby ancient people began to reproduce the effect by pouring jugs of cold showers weren't artificial constructs water over but in fact natural themselves after washing their body. formations; waterfalls. Must wash my precious hair! SHOWER LIKE AN EGYPTIAN... There is some evidence discovered in the Ancient Egyptian city of Akhenaten (dating back to 1350 B.C) that small bathrooms existed. However, these showers were similar in effect to pouring a jug of water over your head - except slaves were the ones carrying and pouring the water. It's a me! Mario! Did someone call for a plumber? ...OR A GREEK Ancient Greece really deserves the title of the first proper shower, with their uses of lead pipes and aqueducts pumping water into communal shower rooms that were shared by everyone. These were similar to the sort of showers you'd have after gym class at school, without your fellow pupils trying to whip you with a towel! No! You'll only whip us w ith it! THIS IS No, this is the shower! SPARTA? OH! Well, can I borrow a tow el? IF YOU AIN'T DIRRTY YOU AIN'T HERE TO PARTY During the Middle Ages showering fell out of fashion, with Queen Isabella of Spain apparently boasting that she had only ever taken two showers during her life. Early Christians would also avoid it because they considered it unholy, with St. Francis of Assisi saying that dirtiness was one of the signs of a holy person. So we're guessing that churches weren't exactly the nicest smelling places in the world back then. C'mon man! You smell so bad People are gonna think I'm a Badger AUSTEN POWERS SHOWERS Showers as we know them now first come into use during the late 18th Century. William Feetham was granted a patent for his shower in 1767, which included a pump that pushed water to an upper basin from where the bather was standing and a chain that the bather pulled to bring water down on himself. This system also saved water as a bath would require carrying buckets of heated water numerous times to the bath, which would get wasted. The beauty of I must say what a splendid contraption! HURRAH! the new shower was that it reused water, plus there was less water to carry away after you were done. I suppose you could say it was one of the first environmentally friendly showers! This was followed by the English Regency Shower (anonymously made), that was over 10 feet tall and was constructed with several metal pipes that were painted to imitate bamboo. A basin was connected to the pipes at the top, with water being pumped through a nozzle and over your shoulders. Hand pumped models appeared, along with interchangeable nozzles and several sprayers. Indoor Sense Ditionany of the plumbing arrived in 1850 and allowed these showers to be connected to running water, meaning that you no longer had to fill it up yourself (or, rather, your servants no longer had to fill it up). ege THESE SHOWERS GO TO ELEVEN Showers were still relatively obscure until around the 1960s. At this time hot water needed to be preheated in a large water tank before a bath or shower could be taken. However, as technology advanced, modern showers become much more elaborate and changed peoples living habits completely. With the advent of electric showers and combi boilers, people could jump in the shower and hot water was available instantly at the touch of a button or turn of a dial. Over the years showers have become packed with even more technological features, including body jets, varied shower heads, coloured LEDS and even remote controls and automatic temperature settings. So, not only do we no longer rely on slaves to pour jugs of hot water over us, we don't even need to turn a dial to get the temperature we want. And with technology advancing all the time who knows what showering will be like in another 100 years! 00 plumbiuarld 8... & 3. Sensibility