Why Joseph Bazalgette’s Sewer System Is Still Amazing Today | How The VIctorians Built Britain

[@mishellekarn5260]

Never in my life did I think I would EVER say this, but those 150+yr old sewers are absolutely amazing! Imagine being one of the workers that helped build those sewers and not having any idea how long they would last and how much people appreciate them. Just astonishing.🤯🤯 Love it! 👏🏼👏🏼

[@MrMann-gt1eh]

Imagine finishing those sewers and feeling the success of making your city cleaner than anyone could ever fathom in their wildest dreams. Dropping the death rate of your people, even.

[@E.T.S.]

There are more documentaries about that amazing system. The earlier sewers dated from medieval times where natural streams were diverted. As London grew the old system didn't have enough capacity, apart from the obvious health hazards. Some inventions like decompression were also used in coal mines. Machines pushed fresh air in mine shafts so people could dig deeper. And of course there were horrific accidents as well.

[@mellie9633]

They are an absolute marvel of engineering.

[@saragrant9749]

What’s crazy is that all of it was dug and bricked entirely by the hands of men- not machines!

[@rdgurule]

It’s rather amazing how fast politicians can get law passed when the issues effect them personally.

[@mk._.n0mi03]

Also with how quick they can get away with crime

[@milica7455]

Nothing changed lol. Sad

[@anchorbubba]

@@JKHTX and all of us working class, rich, middle and poor are one big team, we need too work together

[@joedirte716]

Joe biden is suffering from dementia

[@francisconikotian2326]

that shit gets fixed really fast, literaly.

[@rbivgq1734]

"its the most majestic shithouse in the world" what a quote. That really is a fantastically gorgeous pumping station, and I love the quote.

[@OstblockLatina]

Also the best potential alternative definition of the Buckingham Palace I've ever heard.

[@foxbasher7435]

@18:24 just here doing god's work.

[@fly2crawl]

I came here to post this, I definitely laughed out loud, perfect comment.

[@donquique1]

I design lift stations for a living and I wish I was given free reign. But alas, all I can do is a round hole with submersible pumps. Sad...

[@saragrant9749]

That and“there’s a rumor they grew very good tomatoes.” I cracked up on that one too- after mentally gagging lol.

[@Patrick.Weightman]

When politicians suffer for a single day: legislation drafted and passed in little over two weeks When civilians suffer for decades: *you guys hear something?*

[@cadenschmidt6877]

history is so amazing, it baffles me whenever someone says they hate learning about it

[@kellyshomemadekitchen]

I’ve never understood that either, history has and will always be my favorite subject

[@celestef9727]

It's all in presentation and the ability to put yourself in another person's era. It took channels like this to get me interested. I had horrible history teachers that leeches any interest out of the subject.

[@kellyshomemadekitchen]

@@celestef9727 I can understand how that makes sense. I had an awesome history teacher in junior high and high school, so there began my passion.

[@celestef9727]

@@kellyshomemadekitchen That's what I didn't have. I'm a passionate life long learner and this was the one subject that didn't resonate. It wasn't until I saw an amazing limited series on another platform about WWII that it sparked. From there I deep dived and have learned so much. When I find amazing channels like this I binge all weekend. I'm so happy there are people passionate enough to do programs like this and give little details that makes history come alive.

[@carrioncrow8191]

This video had all of the bathroom humor and puns a dad could want.

[@cheypam]

Yes, very punny video! 😂

[@briansmith8730]

My grandpa used to say that the only good thing about the "Good Ole' Days" is a bad memory.

[@heartland96a]

Modern society owes so much to those early builders both engineers and the brave workmen , with out their work, life couldn't exist .

[@chincemagnet]

Let’s take a minute to appreciate our current situation with sympathy for the hole men in history, God bless those filthy bastards

[@thegang3551]

I did a job for the US coast guard that required me to be entirely inside their septic offload tank. The ships would come in and offload their sewage via pump and the previous concrete contractor had made a mess of the 5000psi concrete. I had to dig a tunnel the size of a man underneath the existing 18” slab and crawl into next to the leaky pipe to replace and secure it. I also had to demolish the previous slab and replace it. I charged $106/hour because I can’t even imagine doing this normally.

[@MrMann-gt1eh]

People that pressure wash charge more. 😂🤣 Just messin!

[@lord.have.myrcene]

Honestly should have charged more 😰 sounds horrible

[@Brahlam]

That's much less then most mediocre Consultants take, sounds like you've done a job that required a very specific skillset (and the will of doing it), I think you could have charged twice the amount.

[@thegang3551]

@@Brahlam believe me, when I realized how fast they said ‘yes’ I was kicking myself.

[@karalianisthmus8548]

Sounds like you will have a seat in heaven in the next life. Cannot imagine doing something like that.

[@sixx_xlr]

So nothing got done until the politicians couldn't run away and were directly effected? Some things never change...

[@Joanna-di1jj]

seem so... still valid, I bet everywhere 😔

[@watergypsy3892]

I found Absolute Hostory 3 days ago, and god, its the best! Been watching it day in and day out (aside from a doc about life as a servant) and just can't stop😅

[@scottbrown7415]

When I was a young lad, I had fallen into the community cesspool. I couldn't swim, but I went through the movements.

[@8avexp]

Rim shot!

[@DopravniPoradce]

I adore this series. It's marvelously informative and the narration by Michael Buerk is top notch.

[@radricdavis8508]

It exposes white European culture for how disgusting and filth ridden it really is. African nations are laughing at you, Britain

[@ImEmpTy295]

I’m not british nor american to have the slightest clue who michael beurk is but i must ask, is he the guy who played magneto?

[@apat2691]

@@ImEmpTy295 Magneto was played by Ian McKellen (Gandalf :) ). I agree both men share an uncanny ressemblance. And they both are visitors of tunnels and caves !

[@francisconikotian2326]

pooping in the most dangerous stairs ever, without any light, the most embarrasing death ever

[@wombatperson5431]

listen, I'm not a huge fan of the current state of the world right now but I cannot describe to you how grateful I am that I was born now, when we have a proper sewer system. This video was...naseating

[@kiowastew]

That's some amazing engineering. Gives me goosebumps. Love it.

[@karenmilford7809]

Who knew this topic could be so fascinating? And wow those fancy toilet bowls with the floral print inside! I want one!

[@Ganbarizer]

Crazy to think that shitting in the corner of a room of your house or on a darkened stairwell was a generally accepted way to use the bathroom at one point.

[@maymay5600]

😳🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@OstblockLatina]

Victorians: *build open, disease-free drinking water fountains for the public* Also Victorians: *attach to them a chain with a single, never cleaned cup for everyone to use and pass their germs on everybody else*

[@coolstarb.]

the cycle never ends..

[@E.T.S.]

It's still in use in several countries. Back in the days in Paris people started to get ill from a fountain like that. It was next to a mass grave. Fluids from corpses leaked in the ground water... The Palace of Versailles was built without sewers. Only the king and his wive had something that looked like a bathroom. Other people living at the court and guests at parties had to figure out where to relief themselves. Many did in the hallways and gardens. There were servants cleaning up the mess before the king would pass by. It smelled so horrible that the king had citrus trees planted. The funny thing is that the palace gardens had a sophisticated water system for the many fountains, a sewer would have been easy. In Dutch cities like Amsterdam canals were used. The stench in the summer was so bad that people with money would flee to the countryside. In the 1800's things went really south with chemical factories dumping waste, many people died. It was then where the city council decided to build a sewer system.

[@fingerboxes]

The silver used to plate the cup actually naturally kills germs. The explanation is something about how the natural ionization inherent to silver means that it punctures through bacteria and viruses by stealing electrons. Silver is actually what most medical scalpels today are still made from or coated in.

[@Tina-ip9yp]

when i hear about how gross this era was, i can't help but think how their intimate moments were like

[@zanaib4923]

Pretty shitty.. Anal was not the freshest either. These nasties gave illness to the world and killed off indigenous tribes with their funky ways. Innovative in each way except ones where animals excel. Advanced? Or ignorant?

[@toastysock]

@@zanaib4923 What?

[@jeffreycater5447]

@@zanaib4923 although life in Europe hundreds of years ago was disgusting.... so was the rest of the world. Europeans didn’t spread disease to indigenous populations because they were so dirty and the indigenous were so clean.... it was because the had an stronger immunity to certain diseases and the indigenous populations didn’t. When populations separate for a long time they face different diseases and have different immunities. In the case of European contact with North and South American tribes, Europeans had immunity to many diseases that they contracted through the advanced and increased animal husbandry. Most indigenous tribes didn’t partake in animal husbandry and those that did had a different set of animals that would carry different diseases. The Old world had these diseases for centuries if not millennia and the New world had no protection when they inevitably collided. So I think that comment is pretty ignorant. The issue isn’t that simple and has a lot more nuance...

[@venus_envy]

@@jeffreycater5447 Sorry but, no. There are many accounts of indigenous peoples from various places in the world who, upon coming into contact with Europeans, remarked on how foul smelling the euros were, even after being off-ship long enough to have washed. Fact is, compared to the vast majority of other peoples, Europeans seldom bothered to wash themselves and were really unhygienic, infested often with various mites and insects as well. It's true they had immunity to more diseases, especially compared to the indigenous people of the Americas and the Pacific, and that's because almost all of the animals that you can 'tame' and use for labour and food and whatnot are "old world" animals, very few of them existed elsewhere. This gave Europeans (and Asians, as well as Africans to a lesser extent) a leg-up on immunity to the various zoonotic diseases that came with living in very close quarters with animals, but it also contributed the foul-smelling-ness that Europeans took for granted as acceptable, which other people didn't. So yes, Europeans did smell bad and bathe way less compared to most indigenous peoples from places where there was no contact for centuries or millennia between the "old worlders" and "new worlders" (as well as Pacific Islanders, Oceanians, etc.).

[@denyshadials5702]

I’m trying to figure out how they cooked. Every smell must’ve been mixed with shit and death.

[@Vikanuck]

32:55 - Trouble wasn’t brewing… it was pooing… 😄 Ugh I’m 34 haha 🤦🏻‍♂️

[@siggyretburns7523]

Cleaning out cess pits? Nothing. Try being the janitor that cleans the viewing booths at an adult book store.

[@abbycross90210]

Funny how quickly politicians can actually work when something affects them personally.

[@JPee-x4you]

The most majestic shithouse in the world. Simply gold !!!! 👌

[@CatBrash]

my family emigrated from London in the `1850's, I have always been fascinated with the Victorian History

[@rogerauger7766]

Back when I was a 2nd year Pipe Trades Apprentice I was down inside a Septic tank up to my hips in sewage when a few people observing from above asked me how I could do the job. I replied, "I was seduced by the glamour!" Perhaps the fumes affected my reply. Remember, 'Old Plumbers never die. They just smell that way.'

[@pinkpugginz]

wow roger

[@sirjohnahayfalcon]

Auger , its in your name to snake some drainns

[@MegaVthompson]

Should’ve said: Thank you to the Scotts who came up with the idea of filtering through ponds❣️

[@staceydoris2233]

Hardly the first people to do that. Scot has one t.

[@hogwashmcturnip8930]

@@staceydoris2233 I suppose we should be grateful it wasn't Scotch

[@staceydoris2233]

@@hogwashmcturnip8930 Lol. I like scotch.

[@adamsjerome1839]

The sewage system in Paris is absolutely grand in its architecture and ornate trappings.

[@carolofthebells69]

This is such an incredible video! I've been loving this series

[@ubroberts5541]

The Romans were two thousand years ahead of old London.

[@austinmunk4580]

Romans ruled most of great Britain for hundreds of years before it was Great Britain, the spectacle is a society tackling its own challenges as they arise, hence the Victorian era context

[@adrianovasco3096]

Romans go home.

[@nulnoh219]

@@adrianovasco3096 People called the Roman they go the House?

[@samuelvandervecht1554]

Don’t have the skill of the bricklayers at the time. More like unwilling to pay the trades to fix the issues

[@KiSH9891]

Turns out John Snow knows something!

[@abbycross90210]

Came here looking for this comment.

[@robertkobus5266]

Henry Badman is a pretty awesome name too.

[@robertkobus5266]

*badass

[@Chuulip]

thank you. came here for this

[@chazblank2717]

Of course the “Night Men” were doing Charlie Work...

[@bluedripping]

This deluge of sewage puns is simply remarkable

[@ArcadiaOccult]

"All sewage must be cleaned?" I think it's the age-old question how do you polish a turd? 🤔

[@angeliqueillstopprocrastin479]

I love history-even the gross things that make me a bit queasy.

[@papertoady]

Clean drinking water but shared cups: two steps forward, one back?

[@nubreed13]

The cups were silver plated which actually helps prevent disease. Silver has antiseptic properties. Also it's still better than drinking filthy pond water and the better off likely would have used their own containers for the water

[@jeremyowen1]

Man, imagine dying from drowning in a literal cesspool. What a way to go.

[@esquirebillionaire]

The cleanest metropolitan river in the world...this is a prime example that positive change is possible. However it did not take friends or family. Nor did I take religion and romance. It took politics, a man with some grand ideas and solutions and to top it all off, whole shit load of money. Thank you and have a great life

[@jantruitt9241]

I am honestly impressed with the Victorian idea of sanitation… And their final thoughts on how to fix it! But they’re not doing a very good job with the water today! We are definitely destroying ourselves just because we can!

[@avengerscap]

4500 years ago, the Mesopotamians had toilets, sewer systems and irrigation from the Nile (not to mention a system for bringing ice to the city!). Yet only 150 years ago, the English were crapping on the ground.

[@JauntyCrepe]

It's really mind boggling how that technology wasn't adopted by more civilizations.

[@redhen2470]

"the Mesopotamians had toilets, sewer systems and irrigation from the Nile " lol, bullshit !

[@geemcspankinson]

I thought the Mesopotamians had sewage systems 4000bc?

[@purrdiggle1470]

@@geemcspankinson It was the Minoans of Crete that had sewer systems.

[@a.d.6637]

All it takes is one generation of serious disruption of the transmission of knowledge and people are back to crapping on the ground.

[@pressa2play821]

Just imagine; in some parts of the world, right now - things haven’t gotten any better than this - and maybe haven’t got to this stage. It’s easy to forget where we came from but it’s hard to imagine still being there

[@disgustedvet9528]

As/per usual all was tolerated until it affected the Politicians and the wealthy .

[@rikicurtis522]

"It's the most majestic shit house in the world" that had me rolling 🤣. I must say though, it's very well done

[@madgepickles]

I would love more content like this: the history of our engineering infrastructure

[@jonezzzyyy6192]

I bet visiting the city was a bad thing back then , I'd hate to live there

[@venus_envy]

Imagine coming from the countryside because you really need work and your head's been filled with ideas that the big city is the place to be and then you show up with just enough money to survive until you (hopefully quickly) find work, and then you smell all that. How tempting it must have been to save one's first paycheque for a ticket our of that place.

[@janierose7610]

Can you do a video over fashion standards in the Victorian era

[@elaborat6421]

Driven by " fearless" ...more like by "unwitting" for the most part.

[@ginakeith5520]

Makes one appreciative of the privileges of modern day developments. This is real history our youth would benefit from.

[@BughunterX]

Acctually John Snow knew something....

[@frankmacleod2565]

So many puns!!!! Great program.

[@mellie9633]

Thank god for Victorian ingenuity!

[@rasmuspaulmann7590]

Turns out Jon Snow does know some things.

[@xenostim]

I was looking to see if anyone else was giggling about Jon Snow's appearance lol. That's funny as

[@KellyfromMemphis]

Look at that pumping station!! Beautiful!! 😍

[@dyskelia]

‘Even the cesspits have a class system’ is the definitive English vibe

[@cleverusername9369]

So, one could say London finally got it's shit together.

[@tishthedish1533]

I can’t believe I just watched a documentary about poop problems from the 1800’s …. Very interesting…….

[@rustyshackelford7651]

I think they may have glossed over the fact that London's sewage was actually flowing into parliament. 🤣 Hence the need for the pressurized system to evacuate it.

[@kessiemokma2963]

13:03 forbidden willy wonka's chocolate factory

[@mikebailey9566]

It's a shame, in America, all we know about the Victorian era comes from the writings of Charles Dickens. Important stuff for sure. But there's much more to the story.

[@kaylizzie7890]

The problem with the temperance movement was that it caused mass starvation. Beer not only provided people with something safe to drink but with much needed calories.

[@annieseaside]

Source? Wage earning Dad’s drinking away their paycheck led to chronic poverty, malnutrition, disease, homelessness & death. Addiction made it even worse, add in Domestic Violence & Drunken fights leading to incarceration. I am 61. Please refer me to your source?

[@kaylizzie7890]

@@annieseaside I heard it in a documentary years ago so I can’t remember which one it was. I just remember them saying that beer and ale had been a staple of peoples diets, especially in the countryside where water quality could be sketchy. Beer is safe the drink and it has a lot of calories, which helped if your family was poor and couldn’t afford enough food to keep you going.

[@vladicus11]

29:45 or so... why are the bakeries ejecting boiling sewage? No answer in the video

[@ibrahimdayub3276]

How is this amazing content available for FREE???

[@YoutubeCensorsYou]

Boggles my mind too. KZbin doesn't pay enough to compensate the costs of producing these episodes.

[@FalsePips]

Channel has over a million subs. You can easily expect him to be making 6 figures annually. KZbin pays well when you get views lol

[@ibrahimdayub3276]

@@FalsePips ok now we have a Sherlock Holmes here pay attention everyone

[@FalsePips]

@@ibrahimdayub3276 it’s literally common knowledge. Sorry you were unaware

[@nubreed13]

A lot of these documentaries are pretty old so they have already soaked up a lot of money before they get sent ot this channel.

[@fn8382]

i will never again complain about my work at nursing home.

[@RandomHippieCreations]

We have come so far... it’s amazing the big cities still smell like sewage ✌🏼 The boat wreck is so horrific, can’t imagine.

[@albertthesecond210]

Baseljet didn't "over engineer" the system. He provided design margin

[@dash8425]

John Snow back then: I defeated cholera and also I made anesthesia. Jon Snow today: I don't want it

[@chrisptaco1139]

The sincerity with which he says "this is the most majestic shithouse in the world"

[@Garblegox]

The Stinkpipes would be a great name for a barbershop quartet

[@nubreed13]

Sounds more like a punk band

[@avengerscap]

And think of how few people own Toto Washlets. It's disgusting. The things even dry you so you can go without toilet paper at all and still be clean. But I'm not patient enough for that but we never had a TP shortage during 2020.

[@pinkpugginz]

i want a bidet

[@nichollle]

i wish you guys did subtitles! i enjoy these videos but sometimes my ears are not friends with my brain.

[@randall1959]

Sort of like San Francisco today

[@mariner1952]

That was some fascinating shit. Not what I expected to know when I got up today.

[@jean1959]

absolutely fascinating!

[@ellenl5626]

Fascinating...the pumphouse station is magnificent!

[@shellsnbees]

I just flushed the toilet after using it, I know that tmi but I am thankful!

[@rabbit0877]

Pooping on your OWN stairs?? Come on.

[@JFlick-nz1jj]

Still better than straight up pissing in your own fireplace or a corner of the room XD. Wild times

[@MrMann-gt1eh]

@@JFlick-nz1jj at least it steams away in the fire.

[@rlosangeleskings]

Better than taking a piss on your front door and then going back inside...

[@akinnon2000]

brilliant documentary

[@Patrick.Weightman]

4:35 "How's it work" 🤣🤣I think you can figure it out

[@henrikjorgensen1614]

A lovely story and amazing skills

[@johanbruijnooge6818]

The sewage pumping station looks like the cathedral of St. Colon.

[@cshumate620]

I'll never complain about cleaning the toilet again! Mercy!

[@rustyshackelford7651]

Really enjoyed this one 👍

[@chincemagnet]

The railways compress space and time, kinda like a black hole 🕳 😆

[@carinwiseman4309]

Shows what can be done when you are not in a war every 5 minutes.

[@modenasolone]

Victorian England was literally at war every 5 minutes

[@georgiafan775]

Only they were. What do you think paid for it? Money is all war is about.

[@forgetfulpriestiv14]

Ignorant comment, how did this make it to the top. KZbin needs to stop hiding down votes

[@Sonsbitchesall]

I know right lol

[@nubreed13]

Victorian England owned half the planet at the time. This is when the phrase "the sun never sets on the British empire" came from.

[@pughshipp]

The “Hole Man” had to be high from the fumes..

[@larsfinlay7325]

all of london used to smell like jenkem

[@austinlane5533]

Thank God for running water and flushable toilets. I take it for granted, but im also insanely greatful!

[@curtisfarmer8321]

Modern Brick layers definitely have the skills and knowledge necessary to create something equal to or greater. That was such an absurd statement.

[@mudhutproductions]

Stink Pipes. I was today years old when I learned there was such a thing.

[@ojaym9769]

I randomly stepped in this video. I learned a lot of new useless crap though.

[@eric-lg2qm]

This is a great Bloodborne lore video.

[@TheFiddle101]

I remember visiting Crossness before it was fully restored. Still impressive however. The Victorians engineers did not seem to see any contradiction between functional and elegant designs.

[@blackwalls8126]

for some reason, I always click these videos about human waste right as I'm about to eat a meal. Haven't figured out what is wrong with me.

[@wasnhas]

Great series !!

[@harlech2]

That Jon Snow was a busy fellow. A lot of people owe him their lives... all of London *AND* all of Westeros!

[@Crux161]

It amazes me how much this channel puts out. Such a wellspring

[@venus_envy]

The channel doesn't make any of the content, you know. They only license documentaries made by other broadcasters/companies (like the BBC), and then post them.

[@myname295]

Such an interesting story.

[@annking8633]

Love this channel. Watching from Denver, CO. USA

[@proudamerican4050]

Hello from Fort Collins 👋