25 Most Significant Inventions In Human History

One of the biggest determinants of ‘sophistication’ or advancement in contemporary society is access to proper sanitation systems. It might not seem like a major invention in the grand scheme of things, but without toilets, or more specifically, a system that actually gets rid of human waste, human populations would be in much worse situations health-wise.

Human waste is full of bacteria, and there are many scavenging creatures, especially flies, that eat that sort of thing and spread diseases. Disposing of such a thing keeps people clean and keeps the pests out. Thankfully, toilets and mechanized sanitation systems make this a much easier process. Without these systems, humans would still have to use primitive systems to get rid of waste, or even worse, having to go wherever they can as long as it gives them privacy.

Many places around the world today still lack this basic piece of infrastructure, and in those places, disease and squalor are widespread. A lack of sanitation systems could lead to the rapid spread of diseases such as cholera, which could be devastating in large cities with numerous people close together yet without a means to dispose of their waste safely.

So the next time you go to the bathroom, take a minute and think what your life would be without that luxury. The potential smell alone would be enough to give you nightmares.