Monthly Quiz: History of Plumbing

The craft of plumbing has a rich and storied tradition going back at least as far as the early Roman Empire. So how much do you know about the History of Plumbing? Take our quiz and find out! You could win a $25 gift card.

Clay pipes as part of ancient Roman sewer system, Xanthus ( Xantos), Turkey
(Credit: 49563229 © Steve Estvanik | Dreamstime.com)

1. Britain’s first flushing toilet, the Ajax, was invented by Sir John Harington and installed in his manor in Kelston in what year?

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b. 1622

c. 1773

d. 1802

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2. What U.S. city in what year became the first to switch to entirely cast-iron pipes?

a. Boston, 1789

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c. New York, 1807

d. Richmond, 1811

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3. In ancient Roman arenas and amphitheaters, the vomitorium referred to what?

a. A communal bath

b. A communal toilet

c. A specialized chamber for regurgitating after excessive food and/or wine consumption

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Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons

4. The first planned community that included radiant heating in the U.S. was built where?

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b. Hot Springs, GA

c. Levittown, PA

d. Shreveport, LA

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5. Thomas Crapper was a plumber and inventor who set himself up as a sanitary engineer (with his own brass foundry and workshop) in 1861. He is most famous for inventing what?

a. The flush toilet

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c. The flushometer

d. The air admittance valve

Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons