Why A Romantic German Town Built The World's Biggest Toilet

Where is the world's biggest toilet? Yes, once again, this channel asks the important questions. I went to Germany's beautiful Black Forest region to find the answer...
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MORE INFO
WRTV Indianapolis video about the World's Largest Toilet in Columbus, Indiana - • The largest toilet in ...
Article about Japan's claim to the World's Largest Toilet - allabout-japan.com/en/article...
Article about India's claim to the World's Largest Toilet - www.indiatoday.in/lifestyle/b...
The World's Largest Toilet on Simpsons Wiki - simpsonswiki.com/wiki/World%2...
IMAGE CREDITS
Photo of Franz Kook used under license from Alamy Stock Photo - www.alamy.com/stock-photo-fra...
Phillippe Starck by jikatu (Jimmy Baikovicius) - commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...
"Welcome to Swindon" by Roger Cornfoot - commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...

[@Taladar2003]

I feel they missed an opportunity by not putting a bathroom inside the base of that so people can say they shat in the giant toilet.

[@57thorns]

Yes, it would make for a perfect spot for a public restroom.

[@russellfitzpatrick503]

Of course there's always that annoying telephone call ... and, at least here, you can, without an ounce of shame, say that you are in the toilet

[@kmw4359]

Excellent point

[@CptJistuce]

The toilet inside the toilet. Toiletception!

[@Jawst]

Exactly!!! it's not a toilet if you can't take a dump in it! Definition of a toilet:- A fixed receptacle into which a person may urinate or defecate, typically consisting of a large bowl connected to a system for flushing away the waste into a sewer or septic tank

[@jensschmidt]

A good friend of mine works in the Duravit design department. I sent her the link and she lost it, because, to put it in her own words: "I had to design the stupid sign to the WC platform!" She's gonna show the video to her colleagues at Duravit tomorrow. 😀

[@TrevorMoses312]

😆😆😆

[@stepheneyles2198]

I was going to say "If she lost it, send it to her again" but then realised what you actually meant!! 😄

[@piuthemagicman]

​@@stepheneyles2198 Please Tim don't send it to her again or she might lose it permanently 😭

[@Turbobuttes]

I need a very German answer to a very German question. The 80 sqm front door to the toilet room, does it actually work? And is it actually closed on occasion?

[@jonathanj8303]

@@Turbobuttes I like to imagine that it is closed on special occasions with appropriate ceremony. Or maybe if you pay an extra 100euro to see the back of the door from the viewing platform. But I also have to know.

[@daandanx]

'We're not here to see any of that!' is always the start of something truly special

[@marcjohnston4271]

...and this time, written in German. :)

[@Hendricus56]

@@marcjohnston4271 But with a "-her" missing. Or an i too much

[@UwePieper]

@@marcjohnston4271 Nah… with a big mistake though. It should be „das“ not „dass“. Dass with two s is not that but a word connecting parts of sentences. Hard to translate by itself. And it should be „hergekommen“

[@vigilantcosmicpenguin8721]

That's how you know it's worth seeing.

[@lukas_drescher]

How about: ”Aber dafür sind wir nicht hergekommen!“

[@euflopapark]

Fun fact: I was actually stranded in Hornberg for four hours once due to a wildfire near the tracks on the Schwarzwaldbahn. If I had only known about this toilet back then, the four hours wouldn't have been so... shitty...

[@psyched91]

"2004 is almost 20 years ago now." Thank you Tim for reminding me.

[@QemeH]

Why must you hurt me in this way?

[@SmallBlogV8]

This shouldn't be allowed to be true.

[@ichbinein123]

Surely 2004 is no more than 7 years ago, right? RIGHT? 🫠

[@westrim]

It's rare that he lies to us.

[@OleJanssen]

I was born that year. I feel old now.

[@harrytodhunter5078]

"Any other giant toilets" -Shows Swindon. Excellent.

[@worldtraveler930]

It was either that or Chicago!!! 🤠👍

[@AnimeSunglasses]

@@worldtraveler930 No contest, I'm afraid. Chicago has a world-class art museum and at least one half-functional airport.

[@EdJonesVideos]

I would have made exactly the same joke with Cwmbran. The Swindon of South Wales.

[@deniztalks5798]

I’ve grown up next to Hornberg and saw the toilet many times and for some reason I never acknowledged nor heard anyone even mention the fact that this tiny village has a gigantic toilet in the middle of the black forest. It became so normalized that I needed Tim to point out the obvious. Thank you!

[@daandanx]

5:11 Ok, Let It Go used in the context of an enormous toiled got me good, I love your humour

[@mildredthegoat8340]

I loved that bit too, and just to be sure, there is a disclaimer: "This is not medical advice!"😂

[@counterfit5]

His music choices are always subtly brilliant

[@maxmustermann5932]

Can't hold it back anymore!

[@AnimeSunglasses]

Agreed!

[@davetreadwell]

As a born and bred Swindonian (who escaped to Nottingham) I have just recovered from the very very long laughing fit you gave me

[@nottmjas]

As a fellow born and bred Swindonian who now considers himself to be a Man of Trent, I experienced the same laughing fit as you. But to be fair to our home town, there are some former mining communities to the north of Nottingham that make Swindon seem like a fresh disinfected kitchen worktop.

[@LolBot720]

@@nottmjas A kitchen Worksop, if you will.

[@saisyuumaho]

@@LolBot720 this nearly made me spit out my drink thanks

[@gs0b]

I visited Swindon over 30 years ago for work. I haven't been back. I laughed, too.

[@nottmjas]

@@LolBot720 Warsop Vale and Shirebrook spring to mind

[@stevieinselby]

That must be the most pun-filled video you've made ... love it 😆

[@Galerak1]

I believe it's known as 'Toilet Humour' 😂😂

[@juststeve5542]

Not just that, the music too... "Let it go..." oh jeeeez... 🤣

[@OmegaSparky]

@@juststeve5542 that is exactly what I came here to say.

[@vigilantcosmicpenguin8721]

I think these puns were total crap.

[@namewarvergeben]

It's in the middle of the Black Forest, which is famously full of logs

[@russvhill2]

It's such a relief to watch a pun filled Tim video because they are consistently so much better than the bog standard efforts others dump on us. Let It Go was a flush of perspiration!

[@Kanbei11]

I heard there is a bigger one orbiting Uranus

[@eekee6034]

Yes! XD "Super bowl" was the one that got me.

[@Shaun.Stephens]

itym 'inspiration'? While perspiration is a bodily secretion it's nothing to do with toilets.

[@kmw4359]

Using Also Sprach Zarathustra to display the toilet was inspired. Chef’s kiss. 😂 Ps - I died over that sotto voce comment about “seriously if there was one country that ought to be able to make a Super Bowl…”

[@jtd8719]

The "time off in lieu/loo" got me. Also the acronym for that is TOIL(..), so, triple entendre.

[@tjenadonn6158]

Also Shat Zarathustra.

[@AnimeSunglasses]

Though using "Let it Go" for the outro was possibly even more brilliant!

[@jacquesmertens3369]

Thanks, Tim, for boldly going where no man has gone before.

[@worldtraveler930]

Yet!! 🤠👍

[@mattyt1961]

I hope he didn't actually go there.

[@worldtraveler930]

@@PBFoote-mo2zr I saw the camera zoom in on a drain.

[@johannconradholz9756]

From a german viewer who can finally contribute something : "Wir sind nicht hierher gekommen um das zu sehen" is more accurate keep up the good work, amazing content as always

[@Craftlngo]

"Wir sind nicht hier gekommen" can be interpreted as a non-intended pun.

[@krux02]

options: "Wir sind nicht hier, um das zu sehen", "Wir sind nicht her gekommen, um das zu sehen". The point is "herkommen" the word with the complicated rules to split it up into "her" and "gekommen", "hierkommen" does not exist.

[@dominikgarbauer6883]

And since we're all pedants: you forgot a comma there. 😄

[@LeafHuntress]

@@krux02 Hierkomen is Dutch, it uses the same split rule as Deutsch. ;-)

[@dermotmcnally3413]

@@Craftlngo Pull the other one!

[@battlewinner2496]

The puns in this video were simply perfect - nice job! Just a tiny correction about your German: the correct sentence would be "Wir sind (aber) nicht hierher gekommen, um das zu sehen" -anyway, thanks a lot for presenting the world's largest lavatory!

[@ClimateDude]

This is the correct amount of pedantry 👍

[@RealGestumblindi]

Yes, trying to translate back the version with the mistakes into English with similar mistakes, it's something like "We haven't come in this place to see what"... (actually, one can translate "das" as well as "dass" as "that", but the grammar/meaning is different, so that's merely an attempt at appropriately broken re-translating, too...)

[@svenlakemeier]

Just came looking for that comment, or else I would have added it.

[@kevwang0712]

I was wondering exactly the same: shouldn't it be "das" instead of "dass/daß"? Relieved to know my German isn't all down the drain quite yet, even though the last German class I took was almost 20 years ago!

[@schockocraft4897]

"hierhin", not "hierher" von wo her, nach wo hin

[@hayktt]

At this point I'm not even sure why I'm so hooked to your channel, the interesting info I didn't think I needed, the pedantry or your awesome British humor! ♥️

[@matsv201]

None of us are.. and by this point we are afraid to ask.. even if we did.. we wouldn't get a answer.

[@derauditor5748]

Both. Both is good.

[@57thorns]

Why not all?

[@CptJistuce]

The pedantry. Definitely the pedantry.

[@davidjones332]

If we're really here for the pedantry, that's HUMOUR. You must be a colonial....

[@louischo2701]

I was flush with excitement the second I saw this video. I couldn't hold it in and clicked on it right away, as you know that when you're about to watch a Tim Traveller video, urine for a good time.

[@tobiwan001]

Philippe Starck actually won an award with this. Also on the German wikipedia page for the Duravit Design Center they mention the toilet but not the claim to it being the biggest. They mention that it is 7.1 meters high though.

[@DaveMcIroy]

Uuuuh, an award. "Auszeichnungen sind wie Hämorrhoiden. Irgendwann bekommt sie jedes Arschloch".

[@tobiwan001]

@@DaveMcIroy agreed. And it wasn’t loo of the year. I find it absurd that he got an award for this.

[@thesprazzzler]

"Time off in lieu", pure poetry

[@offwithhishead2556]

Pure pottytree?

[@fernbedek6302]

I think many cats would insist the Sahara holds the title.

[@mvanh1956]

That's a litterbox. ^_^

[@jpaulc441]

Check behind the Sphinx...

[@CptJistuce]

All the world's a toilet when you're a cat.

[@rednammoc]

8/10 cats would

[@sabinebogensperger1928]

Love love love this video and all your puns, especially the "time off in lieu". Nicely done 👍

[@mvanh1956]

You caught that too, huh? ^_^

[@PeterNancarrow]

Looe Cornwall?

[@Gatherersmusic]

You would have thought they could have built a superbowl 😂😂

[@andyyu5957]

Just getting into pedant mode: I thought lieu is pronounced somewhat differently from loo?

[@CheetahLynx]

@@andyyu5957 For the purposes of wordplay, I think we can let it go this time.

[@moritzl7065]

"And of course if you know of any other giant toilets..." *Shows picture of Swindon* Yup almost choked on my food. Awesome burn!

[@McRocket]

2:56 - You even made Kook's mouth move in the mirror! Now that's dedication to detail. ☮

[@tvdan1043]

"If there's one country that should be able to make a super bowl..." 😂

[@nikiwu8881]

Playing "Let it go" in combination with the "needing to let it go" story was marvelous

[@hanswoast7]

2:55 That ringing animation on the CEOs mouth killed me xDDD I love your humor!

[@rebmcr]

This was really funny, the humour is spot-on; and I am also glad you acknowleged that it's not technically a toilet.

[@luckystriker7489]

Methinks all you need is one guy to urinate down the drain, followed within a few hours by another guy, for it to qualify as a toilet.

[@patrickgray9652]

The fact you have you playing let it go on the piano at the end is hilarious

[@BradGryphonn]

The town of Dunedoo in Australia really needs to get its 'Big Dunny' plans back on the drawing board.

[@TrevorMoses312]

That was definitely not a crappy view from up there, Tim 😉😆

[@patrickl2195]

Ah, toilet humour. I guess we’ve all reached our level 😊

[@philipbrown4602]

Fully wheelchair accessible toilet! Nearly died laughing 😃. As always, Tim manages to find the original and absurd and presents it in the best way possible. Going down there next year, now I have to visit!

[@WTDoorley]

Actually, Tim, you might want to visit Columbus, Indiana on your next trip across the Pond. It's a small town that has a large number of historic buildings designed by famous architects like Eero Saarinen and I. M. Pei. They have an annual festival every year when they give tours of some of the buildings.

[@TheTimTraveller]

Indeed! Before making this vid I'd never heard of Columbus, Indiana - I only knew the more famous one in Ohio. But the more I find out about it, the more I like it...

[@jtd8719]

@@TheTimTraveller The big toilet in Columbus, IN (just down the highway from where I am) is traversable by humans. All it needs to be a fully-functional toilet is a water supply. Columbus also has a musical bridge (the grooves in the pavement are spaced to play a certain tune if you drive over it at the the right speed).

[@Darwinek]

Historic buildings designed by famous architects? Tim is not here to see any of that! ;)

[@FreekDijkstra]

Tim, I said it before and will say it again, you're a awesome. I saw this thing a few years ago during a holiday, and only thought "that's weird", but didn't give it much thought. You managed to make it fun, interesting, just the right level of predictable puns, and even added a pinch of pedantry. It takes skill to make such a "number one" video. Thank you.

[@AlbertoAndeliero]

The journalism we don't deserve but we need

[@nankinink]

I travelled through Japan and one of the places I made sure I went, was the first concrete electric pole of the entire country. There was nothing to see but everyone laughs when I show my selfie with the pole. And tbf, the city had awesome places as well

[@newerstillimproved]

I've been there, too!

[@Sim0nTrains]

I was bursting to watch this one! At least this video won't go down the toilet! Seriously all the puns to one side, Great video Tim and waiting for the World Biggest toilet roll now 😂

[@MagnolienFan]

Love all your shit jokes.

[@JagoHazzard]

Maybe it's me, but I feel like the answer to the question, "Why did they build this?" is, "So they would have the world's largest toilet." Having the world's largest toilet is wealth beyond human imagination.

[@TRPLD]

The "Let it go" rendition in the end was just the perfect "send off" for this episode :)

[@1UPWonders]

This is the number one video Tim has done, it wipes the competition and flushes the others away.

[@skeven0]

Tim with his always nice language selection, he hardly uses pottymouth words

[@herlordship]

I love how Tim answers all of the random questions I have yet to think of and make videos about them!!! Thank you Tim ♥♥♥ Much Love and many Hugs from Niagara Falls, NY ♥♥♥

[@marcelwiszowaty1751]

Niagra Falls would be a great place for a rival "biggest toilet"... lots of water for flushing! 🙂

[@dalstein3708]

@@marcelwiszowaty1751 All they'd need is to mount a giant toilet seat above Horseshoe Falls.

[@sirBrouwer]

@@dalstein3708 but who could then claim of owning said giant toilet? as it then is crossing a border.

[@konradbucher2196]

Hi Tim, hope you see this: there is a supermarket in Germany that you can arrive at by steam train. The station is called Niedersachswerfen Herkulesmarkt. Would love to see a video on it at some point

[@McMac83]

Schön, dass du mal wieder in Deutschland unterwegs warst. Und ich feiere den deutschen Dialekt in der Dialogsequenz! Echt super gemacht. Danke dafür.

[@johnfahey7215]

My favorite in the opening scenes is STILL tooting the tiny horn on the tiny train! LOL Thanks

[@T0MB0M]

The fact that the CEO's mouth moves in that photo even in his reflection in the mirror at 2:56 shows why Tim is built different.

[@albevanhanoy]

The use of "Let It Go" while filming a giant toilet is a perfect example of why I love this channel's humour.

[@tacidian7573]

This video rings close to home since I used to drive through that area quite a lot. Always saw that gigantic Duravit toilet on my way from Triberg which allegedly has the world's biggest cuckoo-clock.

[@anishraja9655]

The "Let it Go" at the end had me on the ground laughing. Greatest pun on this channel.

[@hpottstock]

Amazing script in this one Tim! very funny without being vulgar or obvious. I burst into laugh with the "Wir sind Nicht..." and with the photo of Swindon while you said "if you know any other giant toilets" HAhahahaha... I can think of several at this point. Cheers.

[@audiovideophile5317]

Thanks Tim! Always the best content!

[@dalstein3708]

Fun fact: Philippe Starck has also designed a toilet brush. It has standard scaling, though. You'd need a sh*tload of those brushes to clean this contraption.

[@TrippingtheBrightFantastic]

This. This right here is why I love your channel. Entertaining, funny, unique. Just brilliant.

[@andywindy]

Also in the Black Forest, only some 8km away, is the half-timbered village of Schiltach, home of The Bathroom Museum of Hansgrohe. Schiltach is also on the rail line, as is the village of Triberg, with the world's largest Cuckoo Clock (which you can enter and buy a clock).

[@maxshootsfilm306]

such a missed opportunity to have a guest bathroom up there!

[@enricomonti156]

These videos are exactly why I love Tim's channel

[@the_cheese]

This is top quality content right here. Filled to the brim with entertainment AND informative. Thanks Tim!

[@frmcf]

“Time off in lieu” was really quite good. It made me smile till my cheeks were flushed.

[@hd_inmemoriam]

I was so sure I *knew* that the world's biggest toilet was a roadside attraction somewhere in the US until you showed that screenshot of the Simpsons wiki. I believe that must have been what I had in mind. :D

[@polark27]

What have you suddenly got against Swindon? 😂 It’s true we’ve fallen on hard times and got stuck in some sort of a U bend. We’re trying our best to turn things around. Swindon is number 1 for for having a pop group lead by Liam Gallagher being named after our Oasis Leisure Centre and number 2 for having a mad obsession for roundabouts (after Milton Keynes) with our Magic Roundabout. What more could you want? 😉

[@christ2381]

Oh shit, I missed the toilet when I was in Hornberg some years ago.

[@MrDeephenry]

Once again Tim, your research is top notch. Keep up the good work and hope to see you, soon.

There is a comma missing after "gekommen" and "dass" only with one s here. Greetings from a pedant German 🙂

I mean, what do you expect?

[@jensjager7764]

And it should be “hierher”, not “hier”, but I am sure Tim included these mistakes on purpose to get more comments on his video. It worked! Well done!

@@jensjager7764 he is so sneaky!

[@PopeLando]

I used to own a pair of Philippe Starck spectacles. Never occurred to me to look for his bathroom design division.

[@hypergolic8468]

Just make sure they don't accidentally put any of the kitchen items in the bathroom category on the website.

[@herzogsbuick]

"That's a long time to hold onto number one" -- I can't believe you just left that one there, Tim

[@soundguydon]

"Let it go" at the end L O L.. Freakin' love your channel and your humor !

[@joncrawford3485]

Not sure if I want to "Let it go" whilst on the world's largest bog. And that's not a flash in the pan joke. Honestly, I'm not pulling your chain.

[@fnscooter]

There’s a stadium in Cape Town that looks like a giant toilet bowl and is referred to as such by the locals.

[@mister19stick]

i see you've been to swindon, then , tim. great work, keep it up.

[@cianoreillycork]

Seems like I missed the last few videos. On the bright side yay more Tim Traveller videos to watch now!

[@gregoryferraro7379]

Welcome to beautiful Hornberg! Come for the picturesque scenery, stay for the giant toilet! We're the number one for number two!

[@littleoldme123]

The reference to TOIL was perfection

[@Bacony_Cakes]

gotta love that intrumental "let it go"

[@pacificostudios]

That's a beautiful stone viaduct crossing over Hornberg. It's a funny thing that Europe has so many stone railway viaducts, no one notices this one, while in North America, one can almost count the number of stone viaducts that were built to carry a railroad. The Black Forest railway looks like a fantastic German rail journey.

[@Nathan_A_RF]

So this begs the question, where's the world's biggest functional toilet?

[@pogglefishii6807]

As Second Brush of the Toilets and Urinals Recognition Department, I grant the distinction of largest toilet to the Americans. The German toilet has no cistern and so is only half a giant toilet.

[@guavamnia]

I wish I could add more than one “like”. This was a brilliant episode, and so interesting. Thank you for delivering yet again!

[@sanashi27]

This is something I didn't expect to see a video about tonight but it was interesting and I love the funny narration.

[@dpahfl]

Petition for Tim to go to the Toilet House in South Korea!

[@TravelSignal]

I once visited the world's most expensive WC, made of solid gold in Hong Kong. It was in a jeweller's shop, but you couldn't use it - just admire it, and the gem-encrusted seat.

[@snailie]

A gem encrusted seat doesn't really sound like a place where I'd spend a good sit-in... XD

[@vigilantcosmicpenguin8721]

What if I just put some printer ink on top of my toilet? Surely that'd beat it.

[@mister0ldschool]

I appreciate that the reflection in the mirror also has the correct animation, nice attention to detail!

[@heybagley]

OMG yes! In that skit I only noticed the mouth animation during the phone ringing...

[@BsCremers.]

OMG, The 'Let it go' song at the end amazing!

[@kitchentroll5868]

Tim, you are a treasure. The puns, so many puns.

[@GreenJimll]

TIm has a plumb job here and he's looking flushed with success. #IllGetMeCoat

[@wetterfrosch1984]

Ahhhh I saw this one from the train Konstanz-Karlsruhe, the Schwarzwaldbahn/Black Forest Line (which is also seen in your video). Thanks for making a video of it!

[@euner_xcx]

The subtle insertion of Frozen's Let it go was just too brilliant

[@M1sterFun]

1:12 "Wir sind nicht hier gekommen, um das zu sehen" "hier" alone doesnt work in this sentence, it would be hierher or just her. And "dass" is not correct either, it should be "das" (but tbf germans struggle with that one as well).

[@offichannelnurnberg5894]

hier gekommen also works, but it means "had an orgasm here"

[@mastertrams]

Ok, who else heard "Let it go" playing in the background right at the end?

[@kennethsooley9938]

The instrumental of “Let It Go” at the end was the crowning touch to this commodious commode!

[@hin_hale]

I just want to say that I very much appreciate the subtleties in the choice of music. I won't be able to stop singing "let it goooo, let it goooo" for the rest of the day.

[@R2k2]

Just love the jokes and the puns! 😂

[@seanh2286]

Thanks for another enjoyable video, Tim. Imaginative, lighthearted, and (Dare I say?) educational. As ever, I appreciate your accessibility report as part of the how-to-get-there.

[@timeflysintheshop]

Great video as always! Keep going with the flow! 😉

[@BenvanBroekhuijsen]

The let it go tune at the end was a nice touch. How on earth do you get to all these wonderful need to know facts?

[@celebstagram]

I love that at around 3:15 you included the mouth movements in the reflection! 🙌

[@wolfgangsigloch2793]

Simply love the little ideas you almost miss but are delighted to get if you do. Putting in a few bars of "Let it go" is just a stroke of genius! :-)

[@martinneumann7783]

Cool! I didn’t know that. Greetings from Ravensburg (only some miles south east from Hornberg)… Thanks for the video, Tim.

[@manuellutgens3558]

Your script is, like always, absolute TOP NOTCH! Thank you for awesome, educating content like this 😂

[@lunchparty7453]

Me and my German family went there twice, and took family pictures in front of the giant toilet. I love those family photos. Thanks for reminding me of this wonderful place. Greetings from Nuremberg