NOTEWORTHY INVENTORS:
Tidbits is Available at:
THOMAS CRAPPER
All Grand Forks, East Grand Forks & Crookston locations of: Lo
• Thomas Crapper, born in Yorkshire, England, in 1836, became an apprentice to his brother at the age of 14. His brother was a Master Plumber in London.
• Because Crapper also owned his own foundry, he was able to manufacture his own pipes, fittings, and manhole covers. Today, the Crapper manhole covers in front of Westminster Abbey, which are inscribed: 'T. Crapper & Co., Sanitary Engineers' are a favorite stop for tourists who enjoy taking rubbings from them in the same way people take rubbings from tombstones. • When soldiers during World War II saw the word “Crapper” stamped all over toilets throughout Europe, they began calling bathrooms by that name. • Thomas Crapper died in 1910 and the business continued under the care of his nephew and his partner. In 1963 it was acquired by another firm.
Answer
• His business got quite a boost when Edward Prince of Wales hired Thomas to install 30 bathrooms in his newly purchased estate, Sandringham House. When Edward became king, more plumbing jobs were handed to Thomas Crapper, followed by more work commissioned by King George V. Eventually Crapper installed bathrooms and plumbing fixtures in Windsor Castle, Buckingham Palace and Westminster Abbey. The public thought that any plumber good enough for royalty was good enough for them, and Crapper’s business boomed.
• At one point he invented a spring-loaded toilet seat, which would automatically rise up when the seated person stood up. The lifting motion of the toilet seat triggered rods that automatically flushed the toilet. This design suffered from the unfortunate flaw that when the rubber gaskets began to age, they became sticky and would fail to lift until the pressure from springs became too great to resist. At this point the toilet seat would fly upwards, often smacking the unfortunate user on the rear. It became known as “the bottom slapper” and died an ignominious death.
Weekly SUDOKU
• This was also a day and age when it was thought that going to the bathroom indoors was unhygienic, a myth Thomas Crapper worked hard to dispel.
• Crapper’s inventions included a method of fitting underground drain pipes together which helped reduce disease by reducing leakage from sewer pipes. He also invented improvements to the float valve that helps regulate the flushing and refilling action of the toilet tank.
Answer
• In order to overcome the prevailing attitude of prudery, Crapper outfitted his salesmen with tiny dollhouse-sized replicas of the toilets, sinks, and tubs he was selling. The customer was tasked with the chore of imagining how the full size fixtures would look in their house.
• Along the way, Crapper invented many plumbing improvements and was awarded nine patents. However, the flush toilet had been invented by others long before Thomas Crapper came along.
King CROSSWORD
• By 1861 Thomas had completed his training and set up his own plumbing shop. In that day and age, proper people didn’t speak about bathrooms or the things that happened in bathrooms. So Thomas Crapper caused quite a stir when he advertised his business by displaying, right in his front window and in full view of everyone passing by, the complete collection of bathroom fixtures he offered for sale. According to legend, ladies became faint when viewing the porcelain bowls in his showroom.
cated on publicatio the racks nea n r th Exit doors e !