受风起疙瘩可以拔罐吗:冲水马桶的历史，真相只有一个

抽水马桶的历史

冲走了真相

There is disagreement over who was the inventor of the modern flush toilet, and flushing out the truth is not easy. Many give credit to THOMAS CRAPPER (1837-1910), an English sanitary engineer, for inventing the valve~and~siphon arangement that made our modern toilet possible. Then there are others who maintain that our hero was a nameless MINOAN (a native of ancient Crete) who lived some 4,000 years ago. And then there are those who give the credit to ALEXANDER CUMMING who patented a flushing device in 1775.

关于冲水马桶究竟是谁发明的一直都众说纷纭，而真相永远只有一个。绝大多数人都认为是汤马斯·克拉普（1837-1910）这位英国卫生工程师的功劳，他发明的冲水阀门和虹吸管成就了我们今天的马桶。而有些人认为应该是生活在4000年前的某位无名克里特人（生活在古克里特岛上）发明的。也有部分人认为是亚历山大·卡明在1775年的时候就发明了。

But we also have Sir JOHN HARRINGTON who published a pamphlet in the 16th Century called the "Metamorphosis of Ajax" (The title is a pun..."jakes" was a common term for privy) with the full instructions for the construction of a valve closet. Still later GEORGE JENNINGS in the 18th Century made contributions that were considered the ultimate in plumbing mechanisms.

不过哈灵顿爵士早在16世纪就发布了一本叫“阿贾克斯的蜕变”的小册子（“Jake”是个双关语，用以指代私密问题），其中就详细介绍了如何建造冲阀冲水厕所。不过，18世纪的乔治·詹宁斯被认为发明了最重要的管道机制。

No matter to whom you give the credit, you can't help but appreciate the importance of their contributions to mankind when you consider the alternatives. Reading any of the various accounts of plumbing history should convince everyone that the plumbing industry does not receive near enough credit for the significant contributions it has made to make our lives more safe and comfortable.

不论你同意谁的观点，不得不承认马桶确实为人类做了很大贡献。但从各种各样的管道文献中可以看出管道行业并没有因为使我们的生活更加安全舒适而受到重视。

达芬奇肖像

A gleaming tribute to human ingenuity stands silent and ready for use at a moments notice. This invention is now largely ignored, or taken for granted, but it has done as much to revolutionize the health of the world as any vaccine. This marvelous invention is the flush toilet. Thus begins,"The Flush Toilet: A Tribute to Ingenuity", written by Maureen Francis for Mastersplumbers.com PlumbViews.

人类创新的灵感中的一项发明一直默默无闻地奉献着自己。这项发明已经被遗忘，或者说它的存在被认为理所当然，不过它和疫苗一样，为世界健康作出了颠覆性的贡献。它就是马桶。莫林·弗朗西斯可以在Mastersplumbers.com PlumbViews.网站的开头写上“冲水马桶：人类灵感的精华”