In the bathroom, each of us brushes against infrastructure: a network of water collection, storage, and distribution that allows water to surge into the bowl. Push the handle, and it flows to wastewater treatment plants, pumping stations, laboratories, and sludge facilities.

The toilet is a symbol—a beautiful object that embarrasses. Artist Marcel Duchamp knew this when in 1917 he challenged traditional views of art by attempting to display a urinal in a New York exhibition. He felt that Americans should appreciate their technological accomplishments without reference to European standards of taste.

Americans have long been considered “inventive” in comparison to “traditional” Europeans. Like most myths, this one collapses upon examination. Innovation is the result of exchange among inventors operating throughout the world. The engineering that fascinated Duchamp in the U.S. had its origins on both sides of the Atlantic. Nevertheless, his urinal was rejected for exhibition in the city whose technological achievements he admired.