A toilet is a sanitation fixture used primarily for the disposal of human urine and feces. They are often found in a small room referred to as a toilet, bathroom or lavatory. A toilet can be designed for people who prefer to sit (on a toilet pedestal) or for people who prefer to squat (over a squatting toilet). Flush toilets, which are common in many parts of the world (particularly in more affluent countries or regions), may be connected to a nearby septic tank or more commonly in urban areas via “large” () sewer pipe connected to a sewerage pipe system. The water and waste from many different sources is piped in large pipes to a more distant sewage treatment plant or wastewater treatment plant. Dry toilets, including pit latrines and composting toilets require no or little water with excreta being removed manually or composted in situ. Chemical toilets or mobile dry toilets can be used in mobile and many temporary situations where there is no access to sewerage. Some types of toilets are more commonly referred to as latrines, for example the “pit latrine”, and for most people the term “toilet” has a cleaner more upmarket connotation than the word “latrine”. Ancient civilizations used toilets attached to simple flowing water sewage systems included those of the Indus Valley Civilization, e.g., Harappa and Mohenjo-daro which are located in present day India and Pakistan and also the Romans and Egyptians.Who invented a version of the flowing water toilet Although a precursor to the flush toilet system which is widely used nowadays was designed in 1596 by John Harington,A History of the flush toilet such systems did not come into widespread use until the late nineteenth century. Thomas Crapper was one of the early makers of flush toilets in England. Diseases, including cholera, which still affects some 3 million people each year, can be largely prevented when effective sanitation and water treatment prevents fecal matter from contaminating drinking water supplies.