Poop Happened!: A History of the World from the Bottom Up

How many toilets were in the average Egyptian pyramid?

How did a knight wearing fifty pounds of armor go to the bathroom?

Did Thomas Crapper really invent the modern toilet? And how did astronauts go in space?

This is bathroom reading kids, teachers, librarians, and parents won't be able to put down!

Wipe away the mystery of the history of poop in this exploration of how people's need to relieve themselves has shaped human civilizations from ancient times to the present. From the world's first flushing toilet, invented by ancient Minoan plumbers, to castle moats in the Middle Ages that used more than just water to repel enemies, Sarah Albee traces human health, sanitation, and civilizations using one revolting yet fascinating theme.

A blend of photos and humorous illustrations bring history to life, plus extra-gross sidebar information adds to the potty humor.

Robert Leighton is an Honorary Fellow of the Department of Archaeology at the University of Edinburgh and author of Sicily Before History: an archaeological survey from the Palaeolithic to the Iron Age, also published by Duckworth.

ROBERT LEIGHTON is the illustrator of Poop Happened! A History of the World from the Bottom Up and What's Going on Down There?, as well as a puzzle-writer and New Yorker cartoonist. He lives in New York City.