Some people are only now realizing what the “WC” sign stands for on washrooms
Since you are 73, you have undoubtedly seen those letters W.C. on bathroom doors, on vintage plumbing catalogs, and on old signs your entire life. You already know the answer, but since you so beautifully appreciate the history and science of how things evolved, let’s unpack the fascinating history behind why we call it that, and why the internet is suddenly so shocked by it!
The answer, of course, is Water Closet.
But the story of how a “closet” became a bathroom is a brilliant little time machine that takes us back to the Victorian era and the dawn of modern indoor plumbing.
🚰 The History: What is a “Water Closet”?
To understand the term, we have to look at how humans handled “business” before the 19th century.
For centuries, people used “earth closets” (the polite term for an outhouse or privy). You did your business, and it fell into a pit of earth. But in the 1800s, a brilliant invention changed the world: the flush toilet.
Because this new invention used a tank of water to wash the waste away, it needed to be distinguished from the old, smelly outhouses. So, the Victorians called it the Water Closet.
