With all the newfangled materials that sinks are made with, it's a wonder the lowly toilet is still made with porcelain in this day and age!
Hundreds of years after they were invented, toilets now come in a range of colors and sizes (even with computerized panels!), but the throne of the home is still made of vitreous china (known as porcelain to the rest of us). Why is this? According to Brian Hedlund, Kohler's senior product manager for toilets, "It needs to be a flushing engine." Next, he says, "It needs to be waterproof, clean, and sanitary." And finally, "It needs to be sturdy."
Porcelain aces all three requirements and even edges out plastic and stainless steel in terms of manufacturing cost, user experience, and durability.
Check out the full story on Gizmodo!
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Newfangled? The space shuttle had this newfangled material that it used to absorb heat on it's re-entry. That product was porcelain. Most car engines are now made out of porcelain. Porcelain tile is about the hippest floor and wall tile you can get.
I'd say porcelain is as newfangled as it gets.
Well, there is stainless steel. But then it will like a prison cell.
I heard Chuck Norris invented porcelain.
They make them out of porcelain because you can put Clorox in there and scrub it hard, and kill all the germs! They make the seat of other stuff so its not freezing cold on cold mornings.
I suspect the reason they make them white is so they look sterile and people will know they're really "clean" after they're cleaned.
I'm not sure I want a lighter toilet. :)
@DUANE HILL, porcelain has been produced for over a thousand years, so I think at this point it is just about the antithesis of newfangled, despite new applications for it having been found in a ton of surprising places.
Read "In Praise of Shadows" and see an argument for dark bathrooms.
They make them white because that is the colour people want them right now. Just like there were other colours when those were the style. Avacado anyone?
*They make them white because that is the colour people want them right now. Just like there were other colours when those were the style. Avocado anyone?