Pulling the chain

Funny how expressions persist; we talk about hoovering the carpet when we mean vacuuming. Many of us still talk about pulling the chain when we mean flushing the toilet (probably by actioning a small lever or bushing a button); I suspect some who talk of pulling the chain have no idea that they are referring to the days when the cistern was mounted high on the wall above the lavatory pan and the flush was activated by pulling on a handle attached to a chain which went to the arm on the cistern. The height of the cistern was presumably to gain as much power as possible to the waterfall that cleaned out the bowl. Just about everyone pulled the chain in the 50s.

Pull the chain

Pull the chain is an expression still heard although, in toilets, there are seldom any chains to pull! The cistern used to be above the toilet, fixed on to the wall - it was probably at least 6' (or getting close to a couple of metres) off the ground.  In order to flush the toilet, a chain attached to the arm of the cistern was pulled which resulted in a satisfying surge of water through the toilet pan. No water saving dual flush. At the end of the chain was often a ceramic or wood handle and these are still seen on some light pulls (I wonder if the users know what they were originally).