"HOME TECH": The Inner Workings Yes...those tales you've heard are true. The toilet was first patented in England in 1775, invented by one Thomas Crapper, but the extraordinary automatic device called the flush toilet has been around for a long time. Leonardo Da Vinci in the 1400's designed one that worked, at least on paper, and Queen Elizabeth I reputably had one in her palace in Richmond in 1556, complete with flushing and overflow pipes, a bowl valve and a drain trap. In all versions, ancient and modern, the working principle is the same. Tripping a single lever (the handle) sets in motion a series of actions. The trip handle lifts the seal, usually a rubber