On Fri, 01 Apr 2005 18:49:51 GMT, Peggie Hall
wrote:

Brian Whatcott wrote:
This is certainly the explanation most often cited: but it lacks one
feature for full credibility: on ships of the line, there were
heads, and these often were placed at the bows.
While the bows is plural, the head (of a ship) is always singular.

You're not going far enough back in history, Brian...the first toilet
facilities on vessels pre-date the first century AD...Noah's ark prob'ly
had 'em.

By the time there were "ships of the line" in the 15th, 16th centuries,
there were even water closets--wooden "boxes" that even had flush water
reservoirs and trap doors that opened to the sea in the captain's
quarters and some other officers'/"guest" quarters which were in the aft
end of the ship. However, the crew's toilets were still in the bow--not
holes in the hull, but wooden planks with holes in 'em extending from
the bow and projecting below the figurehead...the crew had to climb over
to get down to 'em...and on small ships, they were dangerously close to
the waterline. On larger ships such as Nelson's "Victory" they were
higher and safer.


Peggie,
I am enjoying this poo-poo thread (unbelievably!) so don't take this
as the kind of defencive come-back, with which I am sure you are as
familiar as I am.

I did not put my point quite succinctly enough in a prior post:

"Heads" for pooping in are often plural: the heads of small barrels
or buckets can also be plural, but the head of a vessel is invariably
singular, is it not?

Brian W