FYI History of the bathroom

More than two thousand years ago, the Ancient Greeks had bathrooms not so different from what we enjoy today. They had tubs that were shaped very much like what ours are today with drains for the water to run out down through the floor. The underground pipes were probably made of clay with one end flared to accept the smaller end of the next section. Glass was invented by the ancient Egyptians and the use of glazed tiles on floors and walls of bathrooms started in the Middle East so these may well have been acquired by the Greeks in the times before the birth of Christ. It appears from the shape of tubs discovered by archeologists that the Greeks sat erect in their tubs following the advice of Hippocrates who believed sitting was more healthful than lying back as we do in our modern bathrooms today. While the public baths in ancient Greece offered both hot and cold showers as well, hot water was considered more for a woman than for a man. But when stopping for the night after traveling a man could enjoy having a beautiful slave girl scrape his skin with an iron tool to remove dirt and sweat. Although using a loofah can achieve the same results and is probably more politically correct. In any case we have to give a lot of credit to the Greeks so many centuries ago who gave us the foundations for the bathrooms we take for granted every day.