>>13684263It's an interesting theory and given the general state of western society around that time, seems plausible.
>From 1929 to 1954, distributors’ sales of plumbing products skyrocketed 367 percent.When I moved to Atlanta in 2002, there was an article in the local paper about how the county still had active permits for a couple of dozen of properties with outhouses on pit latrines. They were working with the state to get grants so those last few home owners could afford to have indoor toilets hooked up to a sanitary waste disposal system.
The 1950s seem to have been an inflection point after which exposure to fecal material in everyday life steadily declined. Public toilets seem to have been a big part of this. If you traveled much before the year 2000, especially in rural areas, you probably encountered some very poorly maintained public restrooms once in a while.
I'd be interesting to see if other fecal oral infections have seen similar reductions during the same timeframe.
