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.
In December 1842, Adam Thompson installed in his
Cincinnati house a bathtub like the one he had seen in England. By defying the current taboo against bathing
in the winter, he was severely scolded by doctors, politicians and the general
public. In 1926 the story was retracted
as being a hoax. Believe it or not,
bathing was then considered a health menace.
Some say Millard Fillmore installed the first bathtub in the White
House, but the actual “first” bathtub in the White House is hard to pin
down. Early presidents bathed in tubs
that were brought in and filled with water heated on stoves, at least as far
back as James Madison.
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.
Bathtubs have forever been a point of interest, both
in life and death. They have been
associated with glamour and famous celebrities, and just pure relaxation and
enjoyment to everyday folks. Today the
bathtub has taken on new looks and designs.
The huge porcelain tubs have replaced interest in the old whirlpool
fiberglass or acrylic ones. People from
all walks of life are going back to just plain relaxing in a soaking tub. Take a bath, yes, but also just lean back and
relax. Put on some soft music and stay
until the water begins to cool.
Don't be fooled.
I don't care how many shower designs, whether you sit or stand, that can
be produced or reproduced in the future, they will never eliminate the need and
the fond attachment to the bathtub.
Today the most popular bathtub designs are unique in shape. Unlike the old standard roll top look, the
new designs include slipper tubs that offer a shape similar to a banana bowl
where you can recline on either end, satisfying one or even two people. They come in a variety of sizes, up to 75
inches in length, and stand on beautifully ornate legs made of chrome, brushed
nickel and oil rubbed bronze. Add to
that the famous dual ended tub, or the spectacular pedestal or skirted tub, and
you have choices that attract the most ardent decorator. There are even ultra-modern solid surface
designer bathtubs that will fit right in where the interior designer has taken
a futuristic tack. Yes, tubs are here to stay.
If you don't have one of these newly crafted beauties you might want to
check it out.
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.
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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
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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.
Bathing in water has been
essential to good health and peace of mind since the beginning of time.Bathing emporiums became fashionable as early
as the third century A.D. The Greeks and
Romans were instrumental in erecting many ornate and expensive bathhouses where
business was conducted, gossip exchanged, and social contact between friends
and lovers were enjoyed.
Many of these bathhouses were so
spectacular that they had their own lecture halls, art galleries, meditation
rooms, and prayer stalls.There were special
rooms to the side where “private” business was conducted.Larger bathhouses afforded entertainment and
physical fitness centers.It was very
common for wounded and tired soldiers to find refuge in these places before
returning to the public after battle.Some of the finest healers worked in these houses.Many of the larger houses could accommodate
6,000 or more bathers at one time.
Although the Greeks and Romans
were both fond of bathing, their approach to the concept was a little
different.The Romans bathed to keep
themselves healthy while the Greeks believed only women should immerse their entire
bodies in water. (Maybe the Spartans’ legendary
strength was also due to their overpowering body odor?)
The Greeks viewed bathing as
something one simply did to cleanse oneself before conducting business, after a
day’s work, or before taking part in philosophical discussions, or after a
battle.
Regardless, the Greeks built
numerous rich, beautifully designed bathhouses for both sexes, but the baths
were not quite as splendid as those built by the Romans.
The Egyptian, Greek, and Roman
baths were known as temples of beauty, and many therapies were developed to
either heal or beautify those who entered through their doors. The Romans were believed to be the first who
used different colored plasters applied directly to the skin for specific
ailments. As many as seven healers at one
time would take a client into a bath with each healer taking responsibility for
a specific area of the body. Each had a field of expertise such as knowledge of
herbs, oils, gems, or colors and their services were more sought after than
local physicians.
Bathhouses became so popular in
Rome that not long after the third century the government learned to transport
water by means of the aqueducts.The
initial reward was all of Rome was supplied with abundant water for their
needs.
Not only the Greeks and Romans,
but also many other cultures had a passion for the many pleasures bathhouses
offered them.The Turks developed very
hot baths, which to this day are still known as Turkish Baths, or steam baths.Their bathhouses were very artistic and
expensive with rich hand-woven carpets, tapestries and ornate columns, fashioned
with gold, silver, or brass fixtures.
The success of the bathhouses was
short lived as many plagues, epidemics and diseases were quickly spread by
water throughout the population of Europe and England.The early aquaducts were made of lead and it
was later discovered that this was the source of mass poisoning or
toxicity.As well as contracting various
diseases from communal bathing, many people suffered a form of poisoning while
others became impotent or sterile.The
baths soon became suspect and attendance dropped once the connection was made
between the bathhouses and the spread of disease.Eventually, mass public bathing facilities
were closed.
In the late 16th century, and for
the next two centuries, bathing lost its popularity.Churches became increasingly more outspoken
about the sins of self-indulgence, with many of their church members spending
more time at bathhouses than at church.The priests were particularly disturbed that many illegitimate children
were created from dubious encounters outside of marriage, conducted,
presumably, in the public bath houses.
As time passed, various citizens
began to protest against the “sins” of the bathers.The new Christian trend was to oppose
cleanliness because it was too sensuous and sexual.Dirt was a symbol of one’s spiritual purity
and indicated that the focus was outside one’s self, rather than on personal hygiene.Refusing to bathe was proof that one was
beyond such things and thus not egotistical or self-absorbed.
It was also believed that filth
was a protection against germs due to the numerous plagues that had previously
killed a large population of England and Europe. Rather than being put off by
the smell, body odor was thought to be magnetic and a turn on.Powders, perfumes, wigs, cosmetics, and
layers of clothes hid the grime and body scent.If overwhelmed by a particularly potent smell, a bit of snuff to clear
one’s nostrils was all that was needed.
Provisions for bathing were scant
because there was not enough simple plumbing to make household consumption
available.When the plagues hit England
in the early 1800s, so many people became ill or died that an immediate
investigation was made as to how to connect the average home with water.It was found that water was not the cause of
the problem, but part of the cure.England, having spent a lot of time and money researching the cause and the
epidemiology of the plague, eventually became a leader in bathroom innovations.
Once water became plentiful, new
healing modalities, which used water, were created to prevent or cure many
diseases such as typhoid and fever.Bathing
became viewed as being healthy and once again became fashionable.
Worldwide, people have adopted
the same general attitudes towards water, using it to clean and to heal.Soaking in tubs, Jacuzzis, spas and saunas has
become increasingly popular. Plus, now with water coming in to each and every
home, private bathing regularly has become the cultural mainstay.
Today, the deep porcelain soaking
tubs such as the Slipper, Double Slipper, Roll Top, Pedestal and
Dual-ended can
be found in many homes.
Seniors (and others) enjoy the proven benefits of the celebrated Walk-in
Tub that offers many great features:
Private, independent bathing
Safety and protection against
falling
Air- and water-jetted
hydrotherapy
Furthermore, our new,
European-designed/USA-made Safety
Suite Showers provide low threshold ingress and egress, and can be custom-configured
to accommodate anyone’s needs.
We’ve come a long way in the
evolution of bathing, and the mystery of the healing power of water lives on. Hmm.
Come to think of it, that sounds like a great topic for an upcoming blog. Stay tuned!
In this article, I provided a
brief overview of the history of bathing, particularly in Europe as it was
first enjoyed by the Greeks and Romans. I then discussed European and
early Christian attitudes towards bathing in the Middle Ages, the Renaissance,
and afterwards.
Customer Testimonial for a Pedestal Tub
If you’d like to receive
a FREE Clawfoot
Tub Buyers’ Guide, click here. Have a question? Feel free
to contact me at the number or email listed at the end of this article and I’ll
personally get back to you. It’s been my pleasure sharing this information with
you. On behalf of all of us at Tub King, here's wishing you and yours a
Happy Holidays.
If you found this article
interesting, please share and forward. If you’d like to leave a comment or
question, please do so in the Comments section below.
Thanks again for visiting with
us. Alan and I, and all of us at Tub King, wish you and yours a great holiday
season.
Alan and Kerry Knight are
the owners of Tub King, Inc., and SeniorBathtub.com in Jacksonville,
Florida. Together they have many years of experience in the antique and
senior bathtub industries. Their companies not only provide superior products,
they are also award winners, receiving the “Best of Jacksonville Chamber Award”
four years running. To contact Tub King directly, call (800) 409-3375,
(800)843-4231 or email alan@tubking.com.
Believe it or not, it was in ancient Greece. Within the
temple of Artemis, who was the Greek’s Goddess of the Moon, worshippers would
bring honey cakes to honor the goddess, in the round shape of the moon. They would also place one or more candles on
the cake to represent the light reflected from the moon.
The tradition didn’t reappear in historical records until
the Middle Ages in Europe where the Germans were given credit for the first “birthday
cake.”Young children were awakened on
their birthday and presented with the round cake.Only in this tradition, the candles
represented the light of life.The child
was told to make a wish, then blow out the candles.If they revealed their wish to anyone, the
wish wouldn’t come true.Likewise, if
they failed to blow out all the candles, the wish would fail.
Unfortunately, there’s no solid precedence as
to how this part of the tradition got started.But that’s the way it is with many traditions; they continue to get
embellished with more folklore, customs and various and practices as the years
pass.
Now, if you want to get mischievous and break an age-old tradition,
bake a triagnular cake.But just
remember, Artemis may not like that.
Why Oblong Tubs?
Birthday cakes are round (okay, sometimes rectangular),
porcelain tubs are oblong.Yes, there
are round bathtubs, rectangular ones, square ones, but most of them are
oblong.There’s a reason.The beautiful cast iron and porcelain tubs
that date back to the Victorian period were created not just for bathing, but
also for comfort. And here, the oblong shape did the trick.
The Traditional Roll Top is the style that most people have
seen and most of today’s seniors remember.The tubs had a slope on one end for reclining and the flat end for the
plumbing fixtures.When they came along,
they replaced a wash bowl and pitcher, which most of our pioneer families used
to “wash up” (see our previous blog, “Bathtubs
in the Old West.”) Submerging in warm water was a luxury that few enjoyed.If there was a creek or pond nearby, that was
your bathtub.During winter months
bathing was more marginal.There were a
few metal tubs, like tin or zinc, but most people just went without bathing. No wonder they were eager for spring time to
arrive. Spring cleaning also entailed being able to take a long-needed bath.
The Slipper Tub offered a taller, sloped end to give a more
dramatic sweep to the tub.It was a huge
success and had the look of a foot Slipper.The plumbing end was rounded.This elegant shape became popular among the aristocracy of France and
England.There was typically no plumbing
involved.Servants would heat water over
an open fire and then carry pails of hot water and fill the tub.They would continue to bring more hot water
as the water began to cool.That’s
because those thin metal tubs would not keep the water warm for very long.
The Dual-Ended Tub had a slope on both ends, so that the
bather could choose either end for reclining.This tub became an object of beauty and was a tub that was often
displayed in the open.It was also handy
if two people chose to use it at the same time.
The Double Slipper Tub had the high slope on both ends of
the tub with the drain and faucet centered in the middle of the tub.It was by far the most elegant, gracious, and
beautiful of all the designs.This
masterpiece of bathtub design was only used by the wealthiest.
There is one thing they all had in common: they were all
oblong- shaped, designed for comfort.The bather could lean back and relax in warm water for a longer period
of time.
A Bath a Day Keeps the Doctor Away
Along with the obvious
comforts of luxuriating and relaxing in a nice warm bath, there were/are also
definitive health benefits. In addition
to making one less odiferous, regular cleaning of our skin helps keep it
healthy. Considering that our skin is the largest functioning “organ” of the
human body, that’s a good thing.
In fact, warm water soaking has been a therapy since the
beginning of recorded history. During more primitive times, warm water was
thought to carry curative properties. The bath houses of ancient Greece and ancient Rome are a testament to
that.Many would come there to treat
almost any malady.The ruins of these
bath houses are still being unearthed by archaeologists in many places
throughout the world.
Today, we’re finding more and more advantages to using warm
water to treat a plethora of human conditions.Relaxing in an oblong-shaped tub can help with:
In addition to helping you live better, water treatment may
help you live longer.“Just sitting in hot water up to your neck aids cardiovascular health,” says Bruce E. Becker, M.D., clinical professor of the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine at the University of Washington. He adds, “The
ultimate purpose of the heart as an organ is to pump blood in response to
physiological demand, so its best measure of performance is volume of blood
pumped per unit of time.Immediately
after a person is immersed in a tub or pool, water begins to exert pressure on
the body.Cardiac volume increases by
nearly one-third with immersion to the neck.”Simply put, this means your heart gets a cardiovascular kick start just
from sitting in a warm tub; this does not occur when you’re sedentary and dry. Hydrotherappy can also be beneficial for certain pets such as dogs, and if you can find one like "Soggy Moggy," even cats (see "Related Articles" below).
Since the body weighs less in the water, it takes the strain
off injured or worn out parts of the body.The warm water then relaxes and soothes aching or tired muscles and
joints.Just lean back in one of these
porcelain tubs, and you’ll be tempted to fall asleep.
So porcelain tubs are oblong-shaped for your body’s comfort
and your overall health.They
disappeared from the public about 75 years ago, but are now making a
resplendent comeback. We regularly ship these tubs throughout North America and
beyond.
Tub King, Inc. offers these beautiful Roll Top, Slipper Tubs,
Double Slippers, and Dual-ended styles today at fantastic prices.The cast iron exterior speaks to their
durability.The porcelain interior is a
testament to their beauty.We can also
custom-color the tub’s exterior and interior for your specific interior design
needs.
We now have a new exterior painting process, which we proudly call our “Artisan
Series” (see our previous blog “Are
You Looking for a Bathtub That Really Stands Out?”) These feature the
ever-popular Slipper tubs in elegant Hammered Copper and Hammered Steel models.
In this article, I talked about the history of the beloved
birthday cake and the advent of oblong bathtubs. Ialso discussed several
different porcelain tub shapes and touched upon some of the many benefits that
can be obtained from sitting in a warm, oblong-shaped bathtub.
If you found this article useful, please share it with your family,
friends and co-workers. If you have a comment related to this article, leave it
in the Comment section of this blog.
Thanks again for visiting with us.
Testimonial for a Cast Iron, Porcelain Pedestal Tub
If you’d like to receive a FREE Clawfoot Tub Buyers’ Guide, click here. Have
a question? Feel free to contact me at the number or email listed at the end of
this article and I’ll personally get back to you. It’s been my pleasure sharing
this information with you.
Alan and Kerry Knight are the owners of Tub King, Inc., and SeniorBathtub.com in Jacksonville,
Florida. Together they have many years of experience in the antique and
senior bathtub industries. Their companies not only provide superior products,
they are also award winners, receiving the “Best of Jacksonville Chamber Award”
four years running. If you’d like to contact them, call (800) 409-3375 or (800)
843-4231; or send an email to Alan@tubking.com.
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