Medieval towns didn’t have garbage collection — so residents threw chamber pot waste straight out the window, sometimes yelling “Gardez l’eau!” (“Watch out for the water!”). In London, there were official laws about where you could dump filth… but no one obeyed them. One London court record from 1321 fined a woman for pouring dung water over a monk’s head as he passed beneath her window. | History Collection

Who would you have painted on the bottom of your chamber pot? Find out more about these portable toilets from the past. | Wellcome Collection