Canadians in urbanized areas have come a long way from the harsher, colonial roots of life in this country. We now have roads, smartphones, the Internet, and, at the twist of a tap, instant, drinkable hot and cold water.
Or, at the flush of a toilet, our waste is conveniently carried away with no further concerns about what happens to it.
Even though something like indoor plumbing may seem like a primitive type of technology in the digital era we now live in, it’s still an essential part of our lives. And it took thousands of years for plumbing to reach the state where it could work easily and reliably indoors.
Civilization Depended On Plumbing
For the developing cultures of the past, indoor plumbing wasn’t even possible at first. Just getting water was the difference between being a primitive, struggling society and one that could advance.
Egypt, for example, relied entirely on the Nile River for its water and had to find ways to move that water not to be confined to just hugging the river. Because of that, they developed the first clay pipes, which eventually converted over to copper.
Then Rome came, centuries later, and improved the technology and the scale. Their famous aqueducts moved huge amounts of water from their sources all the way to the towns or cities that needed it so badly.
But then they invented the earliest form of indoor plumbing by allowing aqueducts to branch off, and feed right into individual homes. They even experimented with early waste disposal, using elm logs that had been hollowed as a prototypical form of sewage management.
A Royal Step Backwards
One of the most surprising things about human history is that it doesn’t always move forward. When we look at the 18th century, and the absolute height of class and luxury, the royal courts of France with Marie Antoinette, they had it rougher for water than the people of Egypt or Rome.
In fact, it was so bad, that Marie Antoinette used perfume extensively to hide the stink of herself and the court. The reason was that even the most glamorous courts of France didn’t have indoor plumbing. They were built far inland, more for political and aesthetic reasons than practical ones, and so water couldn’t easily be moved in.
This meant nobility only bathed once a month, and, more dangerously, there was no sewage management. Solid and liquid waste stayed in the palaces, pooling in rooms, sitting on rugs, decaying even in royal chambers.
Modern Safety & Convenience
Today, most Canadians enjoy modern amenities like hot showers they can count on and toilets that always take care of waste disposal. New models even feature more water efficiency, so that bathing and toilet use save people money when it comes to paying for their water bills at the end of the month.
Reliability and convenience have never been higher. This means that Canadians have a lot of peace of mind, even when something goes wrong.
Professionals like Guardian Plumbing are ready to help the people of Cobourg, ON and the surrounding area. So even if there’s a problem, experienced, expert technicians are ready to solve it quickly.
