Do you know how your character would relieve themselves if the weather was terrible outside and going to the outhouse was dangerous? Why did people collect pee and poop? Why might there be a frog in a pot? Find out on this episode. Welcome to Writing Rural with Alley. I'm Alley, and this is episode number 22, toilet alternatives, part two. You can find this episode's show notes and helpful links to learn more on my website. Alleyhart.com. That's alleyhart.com. Now onto the show. Our second toilet alternative is the chamber pot. Also known as the potty, the potty pot, the pot of pee, the pot of poo, the thunder pot, the thunder mug, the stool, the bucket, the jerry, a jordan and the bucket of EW. Also, the bedpan and the bedside commode are considered versions of the chamber pot. I know many people in my area, especially the elderly, who still refer to relieving themselves as going to the pot. Chamber pots are defined as anything designed for urinating or defecating in, that will later need to be dumped out after use. They were historically used inside of the home at night, during storms, bitterly cold weather or other types of bad weather, and when someone could not go outside to relieve themselves. This could be because they were injured, infirmed, on bedrest, small children being potty trained, heavily pregnant women, or plain old lazy people. But this could include others. Chamber pots come in many shapes and styles. There are small and large teacup shaped ones. Also bowls with lips that are large enough to let the pee roll in, but also have several inches so that your hands can easily lift it up from the outside of the pot without spilling. I find this is the least likely to tip or spill. There are some that look like the gravy boats of today and are commonly mislabeled as antique gravy bowls at antique shops. Bed pans are another form of the chamber pot. They are placed under people who cannot get out of bed or historically, to the outhouse to relieve themselves. Ancient ones sometimes had a spout attached to one side to help the men relieve themselves better. From ancient times until modern flushing toilets when chamber pots fell out of use, many pots would have something painted on the inside or added to the inside, like a frog, for men or boys to aim at. That would be very handy when potty training. The chamber pot is thought to have been invented in the 6th century BC in Greece and was primarily used by women after giving birth. These were made of tin, lead, ceramics or clay. It's possible they use other things too, but whatever they use would need to be waterproof. While we typically think of chamber pots as a pot that you squat over in the corner, that was not always the case. Even in earlier pots, they could have a seat with a hole to sit on and a chamber pot was placed under the seat. These were made of many things. For example, wealthy Romans would use limestone seats over the pot, while poor people had wooden ones. You could have many kinds of materials in your stories, including wood, stone, ceramic, metal or plastic. If you're writing a modern story or a postapocalyptic story, something like a car seat with a hole cut out and a bucket under the seat might be an interesting option, but hard to clean. Many homes in the 1800s and likely earlier had clever cabinets to hide the pots. Or my personal favorite, a chair that had a seat that you could lift to find a wooden seat to sit on with a hole, That was for using the chamber pot. Today, many elderly people use bedside commodes. This is basically a chair with a bucket. Many toddlers use a potty chair, which is basically a child sized chair with a bucket. Chamber pots would have been emptied, preferably every day. I know a few people who are off grid that use a five gallon bucket and do not empty it every day. However, they have a lid to cover the smell when no one is actively using them. Modern times require the waste to go at least 200ft from any groundwater source to get rid of it. I've heard of people dumping it into their outhouses that they use. I know a few homesteads with a septic system with a special above ground attachment to let them dump the waste in because they do not believe in attaching pipes to their home. This is common in my area among the former Amish. Historically, places like London during the Middle Ages were known for people throwing the waste out the window and sometimes hitting the unfortunate people below. They did, however, yell out the window, "watch for water." This was a signal that the chamber pot was about to be emptied. There were also large holes for dumping waste called a cesspit. In some historical periods, urine was collected and used for washing laundry, dying hair, and even weird historical medicine treatments EW. During Napoleon's era, in wartimes, there were door to door collections of urine. This was because they could refine it to make saltpeter, an essential ingredient in making gunpowder. Many times in history, people have saved the poo for their own crops to be used as manure. They did this in Rome and in medieval Europe, to name a few. It is rumored that is currently practiced in North Korea with a requirement that each able-bodied person must bring in a quota of daily poo. This practice is unsanitary, to say the least, and there is a risk of disease causing pathogens and parasites.
Fun fact:during the times of carriages, there was something called a carriage pot. On particularly long journeys, they used these so that the driver did not have to stop so that the passengers could go to the bathroom. They could use a pot inside the carriage. I can't find too much information on these, but I'm picturing the hay rides that I have been on and all the bumping and jarring of the modern roads or even a dirt road and the modern suspension. It was not a smooth ride. I'm wondering how the rider first aimed with all the jarring around that happens. And second, I hope it had a latching lid. Otherwise the first rough bump will spill it. This could land on the passenger, the other passengers, the carriage, and the rest of the ride would smell like urine or worse. Now, for everyone's favorite part, what could possibly go wrong? Well, let me tell you. Likely to go wrong. Your character spills the chamber pot as they're trying to empty it. Maybe it spills in the home, tips onto their shoes, or spills onto somebody else. Also likely to go wrong. Your character's young boy is like all young boys and misses the chamber pot. Sometimes parents find entire walls have been peed on instead.
Possible to go wrong:The chamber pot is not emptied in a timely manner, and overflows. Depending on how big the pot is, will determine how long it takes to fill and overflow.
Also possible to go wrong:Depending on how many people live in your character's home, there could be a line to use the chamber pot just as people have to use with the modern bathrooms. Your character is helped with a bedpan which was not placed correctly, causing them to wet the bed instead of the bedpan.
Unlikely to go wrong:Your character trips and falls while taking the chamber pot out, spilling it. This could be spilled on them or anything close by.
Also unlikely to go wrong:Your character or their child uses a chamber pot you squat over and they miss while going poo, making a mess. This would be awful if they had diarrhea.
Improbable but technically still in the realm of possibilities:the chamber pot breaks because of the weight that's in it. This would most likely be with a cracked or a very old and brittle pot. Also improbable, but technically still in the realm of
possibilities:your character mistook the chamber pot for a gravy bowl and ate gravy out of it. This most likely happened in a modern era with miss markings at the antique shop. I really hope they watched it first! Thanks for listening. Subscribe and Follow for more episodes. If you're on YouTube, you can drop me a comment. A new episode comes out every Monday. Until then, happy wordsmithing.