claystevslat on wed 20 dec 06
Is there a special place in Hades for those who deliberately
obscure the historical record? This piece of urban folklore
comes from Wallace Reyburn, who is best known for the wholly
bogus work "Bust Up: The Uplifting Tale of Otto Titzlinger."
His work on Thomas Crapper is not wholly bogus, but it isn't
accurate either. The flush toilet was invented by John Harrington,
better known as the translator of "Orlando Furioso" into
English. (For those who follow such things, O.F. was possibly
the earliest major work of literature dedicated to skewering
the ethos of knight errantry. Don Quixote wasn't published
until 1605, O.F. dates to 1516. D.Q. still gets credit as the
first comic sendup of knight errantry, though, and if not the
first novel (arguable) unquestionably the first picaresque
novel.)
And the part of the story that Crapper was knighted by the queen
for the toilet? Not true, but Harrington was knighted by Lord
Essex (Deveraux) during the Nine Years' War (Tyrone's Rebellion
-- not the other one a century later) for his military activities.
The syphon-style flush toilet itself is attributed to Alexander
Cumming, 1775. Crapper wasn't born until 1836. The use of crap
as a verb dates as far back as 1846, per Merriam-Webster. Did
Crapper invent, produce and popularize his toilet so well that
his name was the source of this usage by the time he was ten?
Seems unlikely to me.
Perhaps Crapper, growing up in a world where crap was already
a synonym for flushables, decided to enter the flushing business
as a result of nominative determinism?
-- Steve Slatin
> On 12/18/06, Hilary Kerrod wrote:
> > The phenomenon where the surname reflects the occupation is
technically
> > known as 'nominative determinism' and Scientific American or a
similar
> > journal once had a running discussion about it. (We have a
marine scientist
> > by the name of Dr Fish in NZ)
> > Once you are aware of it, examples abound. Hands up anyone with
a 'clay'
> > surname?
> > However, Thomas Crapper gave his name TO the toilet, not the
other way
> > around.
> > Hilary Kerrod
Alistair Gillies on wed 20 dec 06
I was hesitant to join in this subject as it is such a good story that it is
a shame to err....... poo poo it :-)
As Steve says Crapper did not invent to flush toilet - though he did forward
the idea and, as is often the case, his and other's developments
signficantly improved the idea. Not least because the first flush toilets
were so explosive in their action that they tended to distributed very small
particles of effluent over a wide area!
Alistair
Ironbridge Gorge, England
----- Original Message -----
From: "claystevslat"
To:
Sent: Wednesday, December 20, 2006 4:28 AM
Subject: Nominative Determinism, was -- Re: "gender issues"
Is there a special place in Hades for those who deliberately
obscure the historical record? This piece of urban folklore
comes from Wallace Reyburn, who is best known for the wholly
bogus work "Bust Up: The Uplifting Tale of Otto Titzlinger."
His work on Thomas Crapper is not wholly bogus, but it isn't
accurate either. The flush toilet was invented by John Harrington,
better known as the translator of "Orlando Furioso" into
English. (For those who follow such things, O.F. was possibly
the earliest major work of literature dedicated to skewering
the ethos of knight errantry. Don Quixote wasn't published
until 1605, O.F. dates to 1516. D.Q. still gets credit as the
first comic sendup of knight errantry, though, and if not the
first novel (arguable) unquestionably the first picaresque
novel.)
And the part of the story that Crapper was knighted by the queen
for the toilet? Not true, but Harrington was knighted by Lord
Essex (Deveraux) during the Nine Years' War (Tyrone's Rebellion
-- not the other one a century later) for his military activities.
The syphon-style flush toilet itself is attributed to Alexander
Cumming, 1775. Crapper wasn't born until 1836. The use of crap
as a verb dates as far back as 1846, per Merriam-Webster. Did
Crapper invent, produce and popularize his toilet so well that
his name was the source of this usage by the time he was ten?
Seems unlikely to me.
Perhaps Crapper, growing up in a world where crap was already
a synonym for flushables, decided to enter the flushing business
as a result of nominative determinism?
-- Steve Slatin
> On 12/18/06, Hilary Kerrod wrote:
> > The phenomenon where the surname reflects the occupation is
technically
> > known as 'nominative determinism' and Scientific American or a
similar
> > journal once had a running discussion about it. (We have a
marine scientist
> > by the name of Dr Fish in NZ)
> > Once you are aware of it, examples abound. Hands up anyone with
a 'clay'
> > surname?
> > However, Thomas Crapper gave his name TO the toilet, not the
other way
> > around.
> > Hilary Kerrod
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