Of all the pioneers in the development of the modern toilet, Thomas Crapper's name, or a part thereof, has been in the public's mind, or at least it's vocabulary, for nearly a century; although Thomas Crapper made no major contribution to either the manufacturing technology or to popular design. Some sources have erroneously credited him as the inventor of the flush toilet, which he was not. There were a series of inventions that led to the modern siphon flush toilet. Some sources go to great lengths trying to prove Thomas Crapper's name is not the origin of the slang term for toilet and the toilet's client product.
They claim the dutch word "krappe" or the german word "krape" is the actual source. This is a futile exercise. The fact is Thomas Crapper proudly placed his name on his product just as America Standard, Crane plumbing and Kohler do today and the name just seems to fit.
Evidently what Thomas Crapper was was a promoter. He wrote a book called "Flushed with Pride" and he placed his business in a prominent London location that conspicuously displayed his product line.
Actually his company still exists in England, although it is no longer under the same family ownership as the original company. They now offer a reproduction high tank wash-down watercloset similar to a Thomas Crapper original. However, it is not one of the ornate, embossed types from the era that are so divergent and appealing from modern toilets. Nor are British toilets easy to connect to American plumbing fittings. There is short history of the company on their website at For Thomas Crapper site.
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