THE YUCK FACTOR

What a difference a century makes!

The Bathroom

People still had to use the bathroom

No plumbing What did they do?

Chamber Pots

Porcelain pots in wealthy homes

Matched china set Kept in your

chambers Under your bed

Fancy folks hid them too…

But… you can’t flush a pot…

The Gallier Bathroom

Looked like furniture Still a beautiful pot Flushed out into

courtyard with gravity dropping it down into a ditch.

Cesspool collected waste

Honeydippers cleaned it out.

What did enslaved / poor people use?

Privies / outhouses Located outside Like a port-o-potty

You can’t flush an outhouse… Honey Dippers or

Night Soil Men visited homes

Came with wagons at about 4 in the morning

Through carriageway Removed waste Brought it to a pier Dumped it in river

Bathing

Once a week Maybe more in

summer Father in water first Then mother Then oldest… down

to the youngest

Sitz Bathtub

Thought it would help digestion

Sit in tub Let belly etc soak

in water

The streets…

Bath water Chamber pots Animal bones Trash from

household meals And… Horse poop!

Trash! Trash was

everywhere! Rain made it wet

but didn’t wash it away.

Swampy, smelly Ditches along street

were full- could fall into them!

Corners had bridges between sidewalks

The Worst Stench The levees that keep the

water out also kept the waste in.

Because the city is so low, the waste can’t drain away like in other places.

New Orleans is also a very wet city.

There were deep puddles of pee and pooh on the streets at all times!

Dealing with the Smell People did not know

how to get rid of the bad smell back then.

So, instead of removing the bad smell, they covered it up with a good smell.

Courtyards were filled with citrus fruits and roses.

Flavored bath salts and flower bouquets helped!