A Pittsburgh toilet A Pittsburgh toilet, or Pittsburgh potty, is a basement toilet found in some single-family houses in Pittsburgh and other parts of the United States. It consists of an ordinary flush toilet with no surrounding walls. [1] This toilet is often next to other bathroom and laundry room plumbing fixtures, such as a crude shower, a large sink, and a washing machine.
But while the Pittsburgh potties certainly may have been used that way, that's not the real reason they were installed. As Martin originally told 90.5 WESA, the toilets, usually found in pre. Why are they called that? Were they early versions of basement bathrooms, or something else entirely? Well, the "Pittsburgh potty" nickname came about because these toilets were commonly found in working.
The "Pittsburgh Potty" These toilets are sometimes referred to as the "Pittsburgh potty" because of the abundance of them in that city. According to popular Pittsburgh folklore, the historically industrial town's steelworkers and miners used them after a long day of work. I much prefer sharing the story of the toilet in my basement as connected to the city's industrial history - the reason Pittsburgh first prospered.
My basement toilet: a potty for the people. Why does your basement have a random toilet? Explore the unique industrial history and practical sewer function of the Pittsburgh Toilet. What is that awkwardly-placed toilet doing in your basement? to learn about the Pittsburg potty and what it was actually designed to do.
As it turns out, there are a few reasons these seemingly random basement toilets exist. Commonly referred to as "Pittsburgh potties," these basement toilets were installed in homes that had a separate entrance into the basement from the exterior. The idea was that workers, specifically steel workers in Pittsburgh which is where this toilet idea is thought to have originated, could enter.
Pittsburgh potties were installed to help deal with sewage overflows. The history of Pittsburgh is full of interesting facts and hometown tidbits. This is one for the scholars.
Here are three stories that give an honest and revealing look into the basement toilet, an attraction that is common to most older homes in this area. Apparently, it is a unique local rest stop, and it has an official designation. It is called the Pittsburgh Potty!