Gravity Feed

La Toilette. A most necessary fixture in our modern home, and one that started far, far away. It was created by someone named neither Thomas Crapper, nor Mr. John. I don't know the name of the man who made it, but I know it wasn't a woman! No woman would have allowed so many obvious inadequacies in it's design.

Eventually it came to Seattle and here hangs a tale. It began as an expensive device for the rich, who lived--you guessed it--on the cliff above and not in the swamp. That made gravity feed the ideal sewage system... for them. But eventually the system found it's way to the "seamstresses" and dock workers. Those were the people who were living at or under the water table level. How could they make gravity work for them? ...put the darn things up on pedestals! More than one resident (usually inebriated) found it hard to climb the ladder to the loo.

That wasn't the end of the tale of the crappers, not by a long shot. As I said before, this was a gravity feed system and it fed into the sound. Now gravity working on crap from way high up--say on a cliff somewhere--could get a good bit of speed when it shot out into the water. That helped it go far far away and not bother anybody--there were no ecology fans at that time. The downtown potties on the other hand didn't have that advantage. Pretty soon Seattle started smelling like people were pooping in their streets--which, well, they were.

This lovely port with it's soggy roads, 10' ruts, and charming stench soon became the haven for rats. They began pouring in from every direction and these weren't the field mice of Tacoma, no we're talking rats the size of possums and ravenous enough to eat small children! Seattle was turning into quite the place to be!

I'm going to have to take another break here folks, but I promise I'll finish up in the next installment: Urban Renewal.