THE HEAD SHIPS TOILET ORIGIN
Wednesday February 3rd, 2010
HEAD (ship’s toilet)
The use of the word ‘head’ as a name for a ship’s toilet dates back to the early eighteenth century. However its origins go back as far as 1485 when the term referred to the bow of a ship. Toilets were usually positioned at the head towards the base of the bowsprit as the splashing water would clean the toilet area naturally.
