After a long day working hard for that shilling/Dollar, you probably cool down by taking a cold/warm shower: the feeling is really good, right?
Have you ever asked yourself what showering was like in the past? How did we get to this levels with some showers even fitted with lighting to warn you on your water usage? What was the first shower like? Here are some answers as per to the history of showers:
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| Color Changing Showers |
The shower has been around for quite sometime if you know what we mean;
1. Natural Showers
The first ever showers were nature provided - Waterfalls. The early man would stand below the falling water to clean themselves. This was a faster and more effective way of cleaning compared to sitting in some pool or still water. The rains would also provide a proper shower, don't you think?
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| Waterfall - Nature Provided Shower |
2.The Greek Invention
Before the Greek invention, however, the Egyptians had pots and jugs filled with water and have it poured over themselves and if your wealthy enough then a servant would do the pouring for you. The water was cold, I wonder why they did not think of heating the water?
The Greeks invented the first showers with aqueducts and sewage systems pumping water into communal showers.Their sewer systems were constructed of lead pipes, a system that also allowed water to be pumped into and out of communal shower rooms. The Romans also had advanced sewer systems and built an enormous amount of bathhouses across their vast empire but most ideas were borrowed from the Greeks. The Greeks had remarkable Engineering skills, right?
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| A Greek Bathhouse |
3. Middle Ages
History has it that in the middle ages (The 14th Century) good hygiene became a taboo as it became a sign of vanity as preached by Christianity proponents. Apparently, bathing let the devil into you.Yeah right?
However, the link between maintaining hygiene and good health became more popular and the public were only advised to wash parts visible to the public. Showers were non-existent during this times, people would instead take dips in rivers and lakes and those who owned a bath, the water would be shared between family members before the water was poured out as water was also a scarce commodity.
4. Invention Of Modern Showers
It wasn’t until 1767 that anything similar to our modern showers entered the playing field. William Feetham, a stove maker from Ludgate Hill in London, patented his shower invention during this year. They had a hand pump and became more popular as they used less water meaning servants carried less water. This contraption had a pump that forced water into an upper basin above your head. You would then pull a chain to release the water from this upper basin, the water was very cold though? Unfortunately, this system also meant that you were reusing the same dirty water every time you pulled the chain
Showers continued a steady growth upwards as the health benefits were realised and in early 19th century, The English Regency, the first designer shower was created. It consisted of a metal frame painted to look like bamboo.A hand pump was used and once internal plumbing was invented later on, it was connected to running water source hence they became even easier to use.
These development gave way to tank less water heaters in the 20th century. Manufactures came up with even more shower designs to meet consumer demands in 1980s. Electric showers, Power showers and mixer showers are the inventions that followed with a digital shower first invented in 2001. We will talk about the modern shower inventions in our subsequent articles.
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| Modern Shower Faucet |