Editing Thomas Crapper (section)

==Achievements==
[[File:A genuine Crapper - geograph.org.uk - 108112.jpg|thumb|left|Manhole cover, inscribed "T Crapper & Co Sanitary Engineers Marlboro Works Chelsea London"]]
As the first man to set up public showrooms for displaying sanitary ware, Crapper became known as an advocate of sanitary plumbing, popularising the notion of installation inside people's homes. He also helped refine and develop improvements to existing plumbing and sanitary fittings. As a part of his business he maintained a foundry and metal shop, which enabled him to try out new designs and develop more efficient plumbing solutions.<ref>{{cite web|title=When Did Thomas Crapper Die?|url=http://biography.yourdictionary.com/articles/when-thomas-crapper-die.html|website=biography.yourdictionary.com|access-date=5 November 2017|archive-date=7 November 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171107022327/http://biography.yourdictionary.com/articles/when-thomas-crapper-die.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

Crapper improved the S-bend trap in 1880. The new [[Trap (plumbing)|U-bend plumbing trap]] was a significant improvement on the "S" as it could not jam, and unlike the S-bend, it did not have a tendency to dry out and did not need an overflow.<ref>{{cite web|title=Difference between U, P, and S Traps explained|url=http://www.differencebetween.info/difference-between-p-trap-and-s-trap|website=differencebetween.info|date=20 January 2017 |access-date=30 October 2017|archive-date=11 September 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190911193400/http://www.differencebetween.info/difference-between-p-trap-and-s-trap|url-status=live}}</ref> The BBC nominated the S-bend as one of the ''50 Things That (have) Made the Modern Economy''.<ref name=fifty>[http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/w3csv3gp 50 Things That Made the Modern Economy: S-Bend] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180405131652/http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/w3csv3gp |date=5 April 2018 }} BBC</ref>

Crapper held nine patents, three of them for water closet improvements such as the floating [[ballcock]], but none for the [[flush toilet]] itself.<ref>{{cite web|title=Thomas Crapper: Myth & Reality|url=http://theplumber.com/thomas-crapper-myth-reality/|website=theplumber.com|date=June 1993 |access-date=5 November 2017|archive-date=11 November 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171111090711/http://theplumber.com/thomas-crapper-myth-reality/|url-status=live}}</ref>

Crapper's advertisements implied the siphonic flush was his invention. One such advertisement read, "Crapper's Valveless Water Waste Preventer (Patent #4,990) One movable part only", even though patent 4,990 (for a minor improvement to the water waste preventer) was not his, but that of Albert Giblin in 1898.<ref>{{citation |last=Hart-Davis |first=Adam |title=Thomas Crapper&nbsp;– Fact and fiction |url=http://www.exnet.com/1995/11/01/science/science.html |publisher=ExNet |access-date=13 May 2010 |archive-date=18 January 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200118034630/http://www.exnet.com/1995/11/01/science/science.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite patent |inventor-last=Giblin |inventor-first=Albert |title=Improvements in Flushing Cisterns |country-code=GB |patent-number=189804990 |publication-date=1 March 1898 |issue-date=9 April 1898 }}</ref> However, Crapper's nephew, George, did improve the [[siphon]] mechanism by which the water flow starts. A patent for this development was awarded in 1897.<ref>{{cite patent |inventor1-last=Crapper |inventor1-first=George |inventor2-last=Wharam |inventor2-first=Robert Marr |title=Improvements in or relating to Automatic Syphon Flushing Tanks |patent-number=189700724 |country-code=GB |publication-date=11 January 1897 |issue-date=6 March 1897 }}</ref>