Pipe Dreams

<p>People once dreamed of sidewalks that could whisk them across cities. Somehow, that dream ended up at the airport.</p> <p><p>Subscribe to SiriusXM Podcasts+ to listen to new episodes of 99% Invisible ad-free and a whole week early.&nbsp;<br><br>Start a free trial now on Apple ... Show More

<p>Comedy writer Elliott Kalan (The Daily Show, <a href="https://www.flophousepodcast.com" target="_blank">The Flop House</a>, <a href="https://mst3k.com" target="_blank">Mystery Science Theater 3000</a>, and co-host of the <a href="https://99percentinvisible.org/powerbroker" tar ... Show More

<p>From buckskin breeches to Patagonia vests, uncover how America’s obsession with ruggedness and war shaped the clothes we wear every day. Avery Trufelman is back with an episode from <a href="https://www.articlesofinterest.co/podcast" target="_blank"><i>Articles of Interest</i> ... Show More

You may call it the toilet, the loo, the privy, the potty, the can or even the bathroom, but whatever you call it, this everyday object has its roots in Bronze Age Pakistan. It even had a seat!But how did the toilet come to be? Given one third of the world’s population still live ... Show More

If you live in a city with modern sanitation, it’s hard to imagine daily life being permeated with the suffocating stench of human excrement. For that, we have a number of people to thank – not least a London watchmaker called Alexander Cumming. Cumming’s world-changing invention ... Show More

Happy World Toilet Day! It is that day of the year when we all need to overcome our embarrassment and discuss what is normally a taboo topic. Hundreds of millions of people still have no access to a toilet, putting them at risk of disease, sexual assault and public humiliation.Ta ... Show More

Older American cities have a dirty problem — outdated sewer systems that use a single pipe to carry both sewage and stormwater to treatment facilities. As population growth and climate change have increased both sewage and stormwater, those pipes can get filled to capacity, and t ... Show More

Since the dawn of civilization, humanity has been trying to figure out where to put all its poop. While it's easy to take your average flushing commode for granted, it turns out thousands of years of research went into creating the toilets we use today. Tune in as Ben, Noel, and ... Show More

Throughout human history, cities have grappled with how to keep excrement separate from drinking water. In the Middle Ages, gong farmers excavated human waste from city dwellers and took it to the countryside to be used as fertilizer. In the 19th century, cities grew so big, this ... Show More

While the toilet is not THE most important invention, it's certainly hard to imagine life without one -- and the advantages of modern flushing toilets go far beyond mere convivence. In this Invention two-parter, Robert Lamb and Joe McCormick explore the ancient origins of the toi ... Show More

to stop people getting caught short. What do you do if you're out and about and can't find a public toilet? Do you sneak into a cafe and hope no one notices, buy something you don't want just for the privilege of using the facilities, or hold it in until you can get home? The num ... Show More