Joe, in 1413  Gorta Havapee invented the toilet. At the time it was simply known as a 'chair.' In 1596 John Harington put a hole in it. From then on it was known as the 'commode'. It wasnt until much later that flushing was invented when an apparatus called a 'cistern' was attached. The Vatican was one of the first places in Europe to install one (in one of its chapels) and from then on it has always been known as the 'Cistern Chapel.'