11 Jul The History of the Shower: Part 1
Long before the technology existed to make lovely frameless glass shower enclosures and frameless shower doors, the technology that made showers possible needed to be developed.
We take so many things for granted these days – including the ability to, with the simple turn of a knob, enjoy a nice hot shower. But for most of human history, people would have considered what we take for granted to be a luxury.
Making a Splash
“Personal hygiene hasn’t always been an integral part of grooming, yet the need to clean oneself easily and quickly was as pressing in ancient times as it is today,” Kaushik Patowary, a contributor to Amusing Planet, writes in A Short History of Showering. “Bathing in a tub was cumbersome, so those who could bathed under waterfalls. These were the first showers used by man.”
There are, of course, a couple of downsides to bathing under a waterfall:
- You can’t find a waterfall around every corner. If you didn’t need a shower when you started looking for one, you most certainly would by the time you found one.
- Water pressure is important for a good shower, but the pressure from many waterfalls would be enough to crush you before you were swept away in the churning current.
- And then there is the very important fact that there are no hot-and-cold-running waterfalls, so you wouldn’t be able to adjust the temperature until it’s exactly what you want. Your only options were cold or very cold.
Pouring It On
Patowary credits the ancient Egyptians and Mesopotamians with the invention of the first “man-made” shower but having someone pour water over your head isn’t really what we consider a shower built by people. It was definitely a step in the right direction – at least for the wealthy. You could have your servant heat the water before pouring it over your head.
Clearly, although they were responsible for introducing an amazing array of useful things – including writing and chariots – the ancient Egyptians and Mesopotamians didn’t enjoy the benefits of glass shower panels. And they certainly didn’t have the benefit of the kind of service provided by the experts in frameless glass shower enclosures at Florida State Glass and Mirror. Contact us if you are ready to modernize the look of your shower!