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There are many toilet-related injuries and some toilet-related deaths throughout history and in urban legends.

In young boys one of the most common causes of genital injury is when the toilet seat falls down while using the toilet . Smaller children run the risk of drowning if they fall into the toilet. Other injuries can be caused by the feet slipping or the toilet bowl collapsing under the weight of the occupant.

The 2000 Ig Nobel Prize in Public Health was awarded to three physicians from the Glasgow Western Infirmary for a 1993 case report on wounds sustained to the buttocks by collapsing toilets.

Famous occurrences

George II of Great Britain died on the toilet on 25 October 1760 from an aortic dissection. Film producer Don Simpson (19 January 1996) and actress Lupe Vélez (13 December 1944) both died from substance abuse while on the toilet, with the latter committing suicide by using secobarbital.

Edmund II of England died of natural causes on 30 November 1016, though some report that he was stabbed in the bowels while attending the privy. Similarly, Uesugi Kenshin, a warlord in Japan, died on 19 April 1578 with some reports stating that he was assassinated on the toilet.

It is often reported that Elvis Presley died on the toilet after suffering a heart attack, with gastrointestinal problems combined with a weak heart causing his death. These details were not confirmed by the coroner, however, though the event did take place in the bathroom. The belief that Elvis died on the toilet is so widespread that popular culture often parodies that event. Examples of this are Eminem's music video Without Me and the Married With Children episode I'm going to Sweatland.

Novelist Evelyn Waugh died on 10 April 1966 after having put on a lot of weight. The sleeping pills he took, combined with a heavy intake of alcohol, cigars and little exercise, weakened his health, and there have been many reports that he died on the toilet.

Catherine the Great died of a stroke on 5 November 1796, with some believing that it occurred while she was on the toilet.

Occurrences in popular culture

In the 1994 Kevin Smith film Clerks a man dies while masturbating on the toilet in a convenience store. By mistaken identity and complete unawareness of the situation a girl then has sexual intercourse with the dead man.

In the 1989 film Lethal Weapon 2, one of the characters finds his toilet booby trapped, which will explode as soon as he gets up.

Urban legends

There has been a range of urban legends reported regarding the dangers of using a toilet in a variety of different situations. Many of them have been shown to be false. These range from the presence of poisonous spiders (primarily due to the Australian red-back spider's reputation for hiding under toilet seats ) to terrorists booby trapping the seat in order to castrate their targets . Other common stories relate to the use of vacuums in the toilets of aeroplanes . An urban legend with many variations recounts an "exploding" toilet. These scenarios typically include a flammable substance either accidentally or deliberately being introduced into the toilet water, and a lit match or cigarette igniting and exploding the toilet.

See also

• List of people who died in the bathroom

External links

• "SA damages after toilet collapse" at BBC News, 18 May 2005.
• "Power surge explodes 'superloo'" at BBC News, 4 February 2004

• Hazards
• Toilets