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The toilet is simply a fixture that is used to deposit human waste. Nowadays toilets are composed of a bowl like feature at the bottom, with a hinged round seat at the top. Once solid or liquid waste is in the toilet it is flushed and carried through a pipe which leads to the sewage works.

The inventor of the toilet was John Harrington, who was born in 1561 and died in 1612. When chamber were used many years ago the servants in the household had to place them as far away from the person in the bed chamber as they could, this was because they did not want the odour from the chamber pots to reach the persons nostrils. While the servants were doing this Queen Elizabeth I was reported to think that they were too noisy.

John Harrington wanted to please the Queen, whom was also his Godmother, so he invented the water closet (as it was called then). This was in 1596.

Thomas Crapper then improved the toilet and made some major adjustments to it. He also increased the popularity of the toilet.

Alexander Cummings also made the privy better for the public at a later date. Other words for the toilet are: laboratory and latrine.