The word “plumbing” was derived from the Latin word “Plumbum” which meant lead, since most pipes in ancient times were created from lead until lead poisoning was discovered.
Cities such as Rome during ancient times had exceptional piping systems. Almost every home contained a bath with running water, and a restroom of sorts where the waste was disposed of effectively.
Roads were paved smoothly, the people had good hygiene, the economy was good, and the civilization was able to operate properly. Until everything started going downhill.
Once Rome fell the Barbarians took control of the land, and the knowledge of pipes and sewage systems was almost entirely forgotten. The world as we knew it was thrown into the Dark Ages, where chaos ran rampant.
The sewage systems were rarely used. People thought it was more convenient to toss their feces out into the city streets. Baths were rare, once a year with luck, and illnesses ran rampant.
In fact, the famous Black Death plague that was responsible for wiping out a large portion of the population in Europe was caused by this terrible lack in hygiene.
The air in the cities was polluted, and the smells were unbearable. But people had to live with this every day for the rest of their lives. So as you can imagine life was quite unpleasant.
Of course civilization was able to slowly advance to the point where it is today. Where we can live in relatively clean environments. We have running water in every home and an effective sewage system. We have plumbers to keep the pipes working and blockage free.
Plumbing is an extremely important skill to know if you ever live by yourself somewhere that’s far from civilization. Of course a plumber must face some disturbing jobs but its all to keep our systems running properly, making the world a better place.