Toilets are one of the "most pivotal inventions in human history," as environmental engineer Francis de los Reyes said in a TED Talk.
They save countless lives each year, yet most of us take toilets for granted. There is even an official United Nations World Toilet Day.
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Even though most of us no longer share such intimate moments with others, we still share something in common with the Romans: Our sewage systems.
Some of the earliest discovered waste management systems were found in ancient Mesopotamia.
ASOR solarseven/iStockHowever, the earliest flushing toilets appeared roughly 2,000 B.C., in the Minoan and Indus Valley civilizations.
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