Bringing up a discussion about the toilet can be a bit awkward. Your friends will likely look at you a little funny if you try to do so. However, there are so many interesting facts about the toilet out there to learn. If you have interest in learning more about the toilet, then you should check out these five amazing facts about toilets.

1. Mobile Phones Outnumber Toilets

It is a pretty sad fact in our modern world that more people have mobile phones than have toilets. While that is shocking, the fact that is even more shocking is that cellphones are actually dirtier than toilets. In fact, the average mobile phone has 20 times more bacteria on it than the average toilet flush handle. Think about that next time you are chatting on your cellphone while sitting on the john.

2. Don’t Skip the First Stall

If you are someone who is always concerned with choosing the cleanest toilet, you need to keep this fact in mind. The first stall is usually the cleanest in an average bathroom. This is because most people skip the first stall because they think that it is the most heavily-used. Because they think this, the first stall is actually the cleanest most times.

3. Hang the Toilet Paper Over

The great debate about the correct way to hand a toilet paper roll shouldn’t even be a debate at all. The original patent for the toilet paper roll stated way back in 1891 that the roll should be hung with the end of the roll facing out. Next time someone argues with you that hanging a toilet paper roll with the end facing in is proper, you can show them the light.

4. You Will Likely Spend Over a Year of Your Life on the Toilet

The average person spends between one to one and a half years on the toilet over the course of their lives. Men spend more time on the toilet than women on average . Men spend an average of an hour and 45 minutes on the toilet every week. Women get their business taken care of more quickly with an average of an hour and 20 minutes spent on the toilet every week.

5. The First Flush Toilet Was Invented in 1596

Sir John Harrington, godson of Queen Elizabeth I, came up with the first design for the flush toilet way back in the 16th century. His design never really caught on though. It was not until almost 200 years later that the first patent for a flush toilet would be filed by Alexander Cumming in England in 1775. However, it was Thomas Crapper, yet another Englishman, who would finally launch the first successful commercial line of toilets with his flush toilet utilizing his invention of the ballcock in the late 19th century. It was US soldiers serving in WWI who took the Crapper brand-name home with them after the war, giving us the still-used term “crapper” for a toilet.