No society can be healthy without the proper disposal of human waste. The World Health Organization predicts that in four years 2.7 billion people around the globe will still lack access to basic sanitation. Diseases transmitted via contaminated water include diarrhea, cholera, dysentery, typhoid and hepatitis A. Worldwide, diarrheal diseases are the second leading cause of death—after pneumonia—for children under the age of five.

Most of those deaths could be avoided with proper sanitation. The improvement of functional and effective sanitation has been a largely unsung force for development and infrastructure in the rise of cities throughout history. And it starts with a toilet that’s more than a hole in the ground.

Click here to see a slide show of the history of the toilet:  http://www.scientificamerican.com/slideshow.cfm?id=health-brief-history-of-toilet