Having a pee in your own backgarden

[wheresthetorch]

I have been known to wee in the garden when out stargazing with my telescope, as going back inside would ruin my night vision once my eyes have adapted to the dark.

I did consider putting a red light in the downstairs loo, but thought it might give visitors the wrong idea.

 

[BrumJim]

There is a school of thought that we should use humanure toilets (ie, a bucket and a compost heap) for this very reason. Composting breaks down the dangerous bugs in the poo either using heat or time and makes it safe & usable as compost, whereas flushing the stuff away with drinking water seems a bit daft.



Happy World Toilet day...

There is a community gardens in Birmingham (Martineau Gardens) where there is a bucket option in the toilets for those that want to contribute to the composting facilities - wee only.

 

[BrumJim]

Wee has been a valuable resource for centuries. The Romans used it for cleaning wool I believe.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fulling

And unless I'm very much mistaken, it was later used in the production of gunpowder.

And quenching steel when making swords, I believe. Now called nitriding (adding nitrogen to the surface of steels to increase hardness), and doesn't use wee.

 

[Andy in Germany]

And quenching steel when making swords, I believe. Now called nitriding (adding nitrogen to the surface of steels to increase hardness), and doesn't use wee.

As with a lot of these inventions I can't help wondering. Who, while making a sword and honing it to perfection in a forge, thought: "I reckon the one thing that'll improve this sword is if I do a widdle on it...".

 

[Threevok]

As with a lot of these inventions I can't help wondering. Who, while making a sword and honing it to perfection in a forge, thought: "I reckon the one thing that'll improve this sword is if I do a widdle on it...".

Probably the same bloke who discovered shark's liver oil was good for piles.

What the hell was his cover story for discovering that by accident ?

 

[BrumJim]

My guess is that quench hardening was invented by an impatient blacksmith, although it would have made the blades rather brittle. Tempering would have resulted from a bit of trial and error with someone trying to recover some of the ductility. Again, heat it up, let it cool. Hold on - heat it up a bit, and then stick it in water again. Mr Impatient finds another discovery.

Quenching in pee? Hmm, a bit difficult, that one. Maybe some half-baked idea from his agricultural friend after a few too many mugs of meade: Hey, if wee helps my crops grow better, why doesn't it make the tools better too? I've got a bucket of the stuff that you can try if you want?

 

[Globalti]

It's well-documented that urine was used in the fulling of wool cloth in Lancashire and Yorkshire before King Cotton arrived. It had to be rancid so that the ammonia had fully developed. A barrel was wheeled around the streets every morning in a special handcart and the collectors would go to the Methodist houses first because Methodists being teetotal, their urine was much stronger than the boozy working man's urine.

For a fuller (sorry!) explanation go to the Helmshore Textile Museums, when they reopen.