Poop Happened!: A History Of The World From The Bottom Up (2010) - Plot & Excerpts
I checked this book out, thinking my daughter, 10, might like it, but was rewarded with an, "EEEEEWWWWWWW" for my efforts. So, I read it myself. It's not something that you stop to think about when you read history. But proper sanitation really is important to a civilization. When I watch historical movies or read historical books, I'm now going to think "Where are the piles of stinking filth?" Another reason to be happy we live when we do! Don't be misled by the title! This book's primary goal is -not- to present gross information for the sake of gross information. It's a remarkably thorough investigation of public sanitation and its role in the development of (primarily) western civilization. It doesn't hurt that the text is funny, irreverent, and yes gross, but one ends the book feeling relieved to have a non-smelly toilet that flushes into a robust sewage treatment system.Did you ever wonder what Elizabethan London smelled like? Or why plagues seemed to spread like wildfire in Medieval Europe? Did you know that cholera was once a terrifying specter for cities--and that even the best scientists thought that diseases were caused by bad smells? You might be saddened to learn that Thomas Crapper did not invent the flush toilet, but take comfort in knowing that he modernized it in ways that still benefit us.
What do You think about Poop Happened!: A History Of The World From The Bottom Up (2010)?
Very interesting and informative. I liked the actual pictures, paintings, and such.
—stephev
