At Your Convenience: History, Health and Hygiene
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by The Loo Lady Erickson in London
25 Nov 2014
40min
 1mi
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About the audio tour
We take toilets (and most other sanitary fixtures) for granted... but there is nothing pre-ordained or natural about them. They reflect deeply ingrained cultural norms.
This walk through Bloomsbury dives into the history of toilets and how we came to appreciate them, from the Great Stink of 1858 and London's cholera outbreaks, to modern development work... and of course tales of toilet greats, like the eponymous Thomas Crapper.
Music by Paul Freeman; Guest voices: Barbara Penner, Tse-Hui Teh, Catalina Pollak, Lucinda Hawksley, Rudi Grace.
Major Landmarks
UCL, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Senate House, British Museum, Princess Louise Pub,
Directions to starting point
This tour begins at Euston Square Station at the Gower Street Exit (next to the Wellcome collection and across the street from the Hospital.)
Euston Square can be accessed on the Circle, District, Metropolitan, and Hammersmith and City Lines. It is a short walk from Warren Street Station (Victoria and Northern Lines.)
Tips
Places to stop along the way:
UCL, British Museum, Princess Louise Pub
Best time of day:
This tour is most pleasant in the mornings and on weekends when the area is less crowded, but can be done at most any time.
The British Museum is open daily 10am-5:30pm (except on Fridays when it is open to 8:30pm)
The Princess Louise pub opens daily at noon.
Precautions:
Take care when crossing streets. If you need additional time please pause the recording.
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