Sunday, February 28, 2016

Loos, Poos, and Number Twos

Loos, Poos, and Number Twos    
A Disgusting Journey Through the Bowels of History
by Peter Hepplewhite



"Awfully Ancient" books by Gareth Stevens Publishing can be quite a fun read for kids interested in fascinating events from history. Full of fun trivia, accompanied by cartoon illustrations, fact boxes, and sidebars, Loos, Poos, and Number Twos takes us on a Disgusting Journey Through the Bowels of History, as the subtitle claims.\

Starting with prehistoric times, we go through ancient Egypt, ancient Greece, ancient Rome, ancient China, Medieval times, Tudor times, down to the Victorian loos.

Did you know that ancient Greeks had public loos in bath houses and gymnasiums but no private stalls for doing the business? Did you know the ancient Chinese even had a toilet goddess? We all let out a collective sigh of relief when we read about John Harrington's invention of the washing closet - the flushing toilet - during the reign of Elizabeth I. But without the sewerage system, what good is flushing?

Of course, when kids read the fascinating fact that on the International Space Station, the pee is recycled to drinking water and the poo is packed into capsule and fired into Earth's atmosphere where it burns up, thankfully, the gross-factor and the cool-factor compete closely to achieve a fine balance.

Glossary and More Information at the back makes this a perfectly fun book for readers of all ages who enjoy such trivia.

[image source: garethstevens.com]

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