"Are we at last brought to such an humiliating and debasing degradation that we cannot be trusted with arms for our own defense? Where is the difference between having our arms under our own possesion and under our own direction, and having them under the management of Congress? If our defense be the real object of having those arms, in whose hands can they be trusted with more propriety, or equal safety to us, as in our own hands?" -- Patrick Henry

Bidgear ad

 

More than a century ago, New Yorkers only had a few choices when it came to their lavatory needs— either to visit an outhouse or make use of a chamber pot.

When indoor toilets were first introduced during the second half of the 19th century, it didn't instantly gain popularity. Initially, a few residents feared that this contemporary invention would bring poisonous gases into their homes that would lead to illness or even death.