Despite the intrusion of the shower in modern times,
the bathtub is here to stay. There will
always be those who prefer to soak rather than spray. I suppose it is because bathing should be a
relaxing time, not just a time to get a quick cleanup. There have been many notable bathtubs in
history that set the tone.
The ancient Greek inventor Archimedes discovered the
physics of displacement while sitting in a bathtub. The water rose when he got into the tub, and
he figured you could measure the volume of all kinds of objects that way. As the story goes, he jumped up from the
bath, shouted “Eureka!” and ran around naked telling people of his discovery. The Emperor had asked whether the royal crown
was pure gold. Archimedes measured the
volume of the crown by water displacement and compared that to the volume of an
equal weight of pure gold. The volumes
were different, indicating that the crown had lighter material underneath the
gold.
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| Courtesy of |
Another bathtub of note was designed for a Navy
ship. Battleships are designed to carry
as much equipment and as many men as needed without wasting an inch of
space. But an exception was made when a
ship was to take President Franklin Roosevelt to the Cairo Conference and the
Tehran Conference in 1943. Roosevelt had
been crippled by Guillain-Barr syndrome since 1921, and would have a hard time
taking a shower. A bathtub was needed
for the president. Today, the USS Iowa
is looking for a home as a museum ship.
William Howard Taft was the heaviest US president at
332 pounds. Early in his administration
(1909-1913) he bathed in the white house bathtub, and had a larger one installed
later. In 1912, he took his own
oversized tub onto a ship for a trip from Key West to Colon. It was not permanently installed.
There has also been notable deaths in a bathtub. Orville Redenbacher, founder of the popcorn
company that bears his name. In 1995 he
was found dead in a whirlpool bath after falling victim to a heart attack.
Jim Morrison, the lead singer for The Doors, was found
dead in a bathtub in Paris in 1971. He
had an ongoing love affair with alcohol and drugs. Others, whose dead bodies were recovered from
a bathtub would include Michael Jackson and Whitney Houston.
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| Courtesy of TubKing.com |
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| Courtesy of TubKing.com |
In
this article, I have discussed several famous and infamous bathtubs in history.
I provide details on several types of modern bathtubs and further show how
showers will never replace the relaxation and enjoyment that bathtubs have
brought to bathing.
Would
you like to receive a FREE COPY of our new e-book? Tub King's Ultimate
Guide to Cast Iron/Porcelain Tubs, Walk-in Tubs & Safety Suite Showers.
Fill in the form below and we will send it to you for free! It is
also for sale and you can see/buy it on Amazon.com by clicking on
this link.
Have
a question? Feel free to contact me at the number or email listed at the end of
this article and I will personally get back to you. It’s been my pleasure
sharing this information with you.
Alan Knight is the owner of Tub King, Inc., and SeniorBathtub.com in Jacksonville, Florida. He has many years of experience in the antique and senior bathtub industries. In addition to providing superior products, Tub King has been honored with “Best of Jacksonville Chamber Awards” for four years running. If you would like to contact Alan Knight, call (800) 409-3375 or (800) 843-4231; or send an email to alan@tubking.com.
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