A typical stall shower with height-adjustable nozzle.

A combination shower and bathtub.

A shower (or shower-bath, walk-in shower, steam shower) is an area in which one bathes underneath a spray of water.^[1]

History[link]

The original showers were neither indoor structures nor man-made, but were common natural formations: waterfalls.^[2] The falling water rinsed the bathers completely clean and was more efficient than bathing in a traditional basin, which required manual transport of both fresh and waste water. Ancient people began to reproduce these natural phenomena by pouring jugs of water, often very cold, over themselves after washing. There has been evidence of early upper class Egyptian and Mesopotamians having indoor shower rooms where servants would bathe them in the privacy of their own homes.^[3] However, these were a far cry from modern shower facilities; they had only rudimentary drainage systems and water was carried, not pumped, into the room.

The first group of people to have showers that would be recognizable to a modern person were the ancient Greeks. Their aqueducts and sewage systems made of lead pipes allowed water to be pumped both into and out of large communal shower rooms used by elites and common citizens alike.^[4] These rooms have been discovered at the site of the city Pergamum and can also be found represented in pottery of the era. The depictions are very similar to modern locker room shower, and even included bars to hang up clothing.^[5] The ancient Romans also followed this convention; their famous bathhouses can be found all around the Mediterranean and as far out as modern day England. The Romans not only had these showers, but also believed in bathing multiple times a week, if not every day. After the fall of the Roman Empire and the rise of Christianity, practising what is today considered good hygiene became a religious taboo and was abandoned almost completely from the late Middle Ages until the Victorian era.^[6]

The advanced water and sewage systems developed by the Greeks and Romans quickly broke down and fell out of use after the fall of their empires. It was not until the 19th century that a system nearly as complex or reliable as the Greek and Roman sewers was rebuilt. The first showers in the modern era were self-contained units where water could be reused several times.^[7] In the early 19th century (probably around 1810, though there is some contradiction among sources), the English Regency Shower was anonymously invented.^[2] The original design was over 10 feet (3 m) tall, and was made of several metal pipes painted to look like bamboo. On the top of the unit was a basin connected to these pipes. The water was pumped through a nozzle and over the occupant's shoulders before being collected and pumped back into the basin. This prototype went through several renovations including hand pumped models, models with several sprayers, and those with interchangeable nozzles. The reinvention of reliable indoor plumbing around 1850^[8] allowed the free-standing showers to be connected to a running water source, making them easier to use. In addition the increase in access to heated water made bathing more comfortable and popular. Even with the new improvements in their design, the shower remained less popular than the bath in industrialised countries until the second half of the 20th century.^{[citation needed]}

Types of showers[link]

Public[link]

Following in the tradition of ancient Greece, many modern athletic and aquatic facilities are equipped with showers. These can be in the form of individual stalls equipped with curtains to maintain privacy or of group shower rooms much like those pictured on ancient Greek pottery. The latter is generally a large open room with several nozzles, or shower heads, either installed directly into the walls of the room or on posts throughout the space.

In addition to washing after vigorous exercise, a variety of shower has been brought into use by governments and their military forces around the world; this is called the field shower. Modern weapons used in battle often have dangerous after effects including caustic chemicals, deadly biological agents, and radioactive materials, which can harm not only the intended targets but also the aggressor’s forces. Field showers therefore are often employed to remove these potentially deadly substances from a soldier’s body.^[9]

Domestic[link]

Despite the innovations in plumbing and water treatment, the domestic shower is much the same as it was in the late 19th century. The two most commonly found types of showers are the stall shower and the shower/bathtub. The former is solely a shower shielded by a glass door for privacy and to contain any stray water droplets. The latter can be used to take a bath or a shower and is shielded by a sliding shower curtain again for privacy and water containment. Though most domestic units have a single overhead nozzle, more elaborate multi-head showers can be found in custom bathrooms.

Other types of showers[link]

Rib shower

• Air shower: a type of bathing where high pressure air is used to blow off excess dust particles from cleanroom personnel.
• Electric shower: a shower stall device to locally heat shower water with electrical power.
• Emergency showers are installed in laboratories and other facilities that use hazardous chemicals, and are required by law in the United States.^[10] Emergency showers are designed to deluge continuously at around 30–60 gallons per minute^[11] (114–227 liters per minute) for at least 15 minutes,^[12] and should be located at most 10 seconds away from potential users.^[13]
• Graham shower: any type of shower taken in limited environment where normal shower facilities do not exist (e.g., under a rain-filled gutter, under a spigot )
• Navy shower: a method of showering that allows for significant conservation of water and energy.
• Power shower: a shower stall device to locally increase the water pressure available to the shower head by means of an electric pump.
• Roman shower: an architecturally designed type of shower that does not require a door or curtain.
• Steam shower: a type of bathing where a humidifying steam generator produces steam that is dispersed around a person's body.
• Vichy shower: a shower where large quantities of warm water are poured over a spa patron while the user lies within a shallow (wet) bed, similar to a massage table, but with drainage for the water.

Use[link]

Shower usage in the latter half of the 20th century has skyrocketed. Personal hygiene became a primary concern, and bathing every day or multiple times a day is common among Western cultures.^[14] Showering is generally faster than bathing and can use less water.^[15] This quick and efficient concept explains its popularity as it fits in with the fast-paced lifestyles of modern people. In addition, showering, as opposed to taking a bath, is recommended for older people because it reduces the risk of injury related to falling.^[16]

Cultural significance[link]

Showering is mostly part of a daily routine primarily to promote cleanliness and prevent odour, disease and infection. Advances in science and medicine in the 19th century began to realize the benefit of regular bathing to an individual's health. As a result, most modern cultures encourage a daily personal hygiene regimen. Showering has also developed the reputation as a relaxing and generally therapeutic activity.^[17]

Scottish shower[link]

A Scottish shower consists in alternating application of hot and cold water during a shower session. In the most reduced form, it may consist only of one alternation, that is, applying cold water after a usual hot water shower. It is thought that the alternation of heat and cold improves blood circulation, that is beneficial for instance in rheumatic disorders. The application of cold after heat is well documented in the sauna article section: Health risks and benefits/with cold exposure.

Installation[link]

The plumbing for a shower being put down

Installation of a shower requires several water transportation pipes. These include the pipe for hot water, cold water, and the drainage pipe.

There are many specific types of showers that can be installed. These include, complete shower units which are all encompassing showers that include the pan, walls, and often the shower head, as well and pieced together units in which the pan, shower head, and doors are purchased separately. It is almost always better to ask a certified professional to do the installation of a complete shower if the user is not familiar with it.

Structure and design[link]

Many public swimming areas offer poolside showers

Designs for shower facilities vary by location and purpose. There are free-standing showers, but also showers which are integrated into a bathtub. Showers are separated from the surrounding area through watertight curtains (shower curtain), sliding doors, or folding doors, in order to protect the space from spraying water. Showers with a level entry wet room are becoming very popular, especially due to improvements in waterproofing systems and prefabricated components. Best practice requires a waterproofing material to cover the walls and floor of the shower area that are then covered with tile, or in some countries with a sheet material like vinyl.

Places such as a swimming pool, a locker room, or a military facility, have multiple showers. There may be communal shower rooms without divisions, or shower stalls (typically open at the top.)

Shower heads[link]

A shower head.

Close up of a shower head.

A shower head is a perforated nozzle that distributes the water over a large solid angle at point of use, generally overhead of the bather. Thus less water than full immersion can be used to wet the same area. All residential and most commercial shower heads sold in the USA must flow less than or equal to 9.5 liters per minute (2.5 gallons per minute) per the Department of Energy ruling 10 CFR 430. Low flow shower heads, less than or equal 7.6 liters per minute (2.0 gallon per minute), can use water more efficiently by aerating the water stream, altering nozzles through advanced flow principles or by high speed oscillation of the spray stream. USEPA administrates a voluntary water saving program WaterSense, which can certify low flow shower heads. Some shower heads can be adjusted to spray different patterns of water, such as massage, gentle spray, strong spray, and intermittent pulse or combination modes. Hard water may result in calcium and magnesium deposits clogging the head, reducing the flow and changing the spray pattern. For descaling, various acidic chemicals or brushes can be used or some heads have rubber-like jets that can be manually descaled. A homemade remedy is to immerse it in a solution of water and vinegar for a while, since the vinegar is able to dissolve limescale.

In contrast to the USA, luxury/therapeutic showers that use over 40 litres of water per minute are sold worldwide and are increasingly common as the world population ages and people's disposable income increases.

Shower curtains[link]

Shower curtains are curtains used in bathtubs with a shower or shower enclosures. They are usually made from vinyl, cloth or plastic. The shower curtain has two main purposes: to provide privacy and to prevent water from flooding or spraying into the bathroom. Shower curtains usually surround the bath inside the tub or shower area, and are held up with railings or curtain rods on the ceiling. To accommodate the different types of bathtub shapes, railings can come in different sizes and are flexible in their design. Some people use two shower curtains: one that is inside the tub, which is mainly functional or decorative as well, and an outer shower curtain, which is purely decorative.

Shower doors[link]

Shower doors are doors used in bathrooms that help keep water inside a shower or bathtub and are alternatives to shower curtains. They are available in many different styles such as framed or frameless, sliding or swing. They are usually constructed of aluminum, clear glass, plexi-glass or tempered glass. Shower doors can come in many different hardware finishes and glass patterns that can match other bathroom hardware such as faucets and shower heads. There are also shower doors that are in a neo angle design for use on shower pans that have the neo design as well. The design of the shower pan is extremely important as the shower door must be the type required for the pan in order to work.

Wet rooms[link]

Repairing damaged tile in a shower stall with a caulking gun

A wet room is a shower within a bathroom with a barrier-free floor, level with its surroundings. This structure consists of two phases of construction:

• Phase 1: Structural, which consists of a gradient or slope, an outlet hole, and a foul air trap connecting the floor to the waste pipes.
• Phase 2: Waterproofing. Best practice would suggest multiple layers of defense. Grout is used to fill gaps between tiles, but this material is generally porous. Tiles are generally waterproof, so larger surface areas of grout are less waterproof. Thus small mosaic tiles offer less of a defense than large format tiles. This means sub-tile waterproofing is important when tiles are being used.

In building a wet room it is easier to build the slope all in one direction. This allows for larger format tile and fewer grout joints but a channel drain is needed instead of a round or square drain. Grout and tile setting materials are not waterproof for the most part. It is a good idea to have a fail safe drain in the bathroom outside of the wet zone for these curbless showers or wet rooms. In Australia and some European markets, but not in UK or North America, this second emergency drain is required by the plumbing codes.

Equipment used in showers[link]

• Pressure balanced valve, a device to provide constant shower water pressure and prevent temperature fluctuations.
• Sharko Shower, a tethered shower head used for massage.
• Shower cap, a cap worn while showering or bathing, to protect hair from becoming wet.
• Shower radio, a radio that is waterproofed to allow it to be used in a bathroom or other wet environment.
• Sunshower, a device to locally heat shower water with solar power.
• Soap
• Shampoo
• Washing mitt, a tool for applying soap to the body.
• Water heat recycling units to reclaim much of the waste water's heat and recycle it to the shower head and minimize heat lost to the drain

See also[link]

• Bathing
• Bathroom
• Navy shower
• Solar heated shower
• Steam Shower
• Transfer bench

References[link]

Citations[link]

Natalia Kills
Natalia Kills in 2011.
Background information
Birth name	Natalia Keery-Fisher
Also known as	Verbz, Verbalicious,[1] Natalia Noemi Cappuccini,[2] Verse, Candy Rapper, Verbal
Born	(1986-08-15) 15 August 1986 (age 25) Bradford, West Yorkshire, England
Genres	Pop, electropop
Occupations	Singer-songwriter, actress, film director
Instruments	Vocals, drums, guitar
Years active	1995–present
Labels	Adventures in Music, will.i.am, Cherrytree, Interscope
Website	www.nataliakills.com

Natalia Keery-Fisher^[3][4] (born 15 August 1986) is an English singer-songwriter, actress, and director who performs under the stage name Natalia Kills. She released her debut album, Perfectionist, in 2011.

Biography[link]

1986–94: Early life[link]

Kills was born in Bradford, West Yorkshire, to an Afro-Jamaican father and Uruguayan mother,^[5] where she attended Bradford Girls' Grammar School. In addition, she studied classical drama at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art.^[3] She stated in a post on her blog on social website, MySpace that she grew up flying between London and Florida, where she had relatives, resulting in a mixed American and English accent.^[6]

1995–2010: Career beginnings[link]

Kills made her acting debut at age 9 in 1995 in New Voices. She had a regular role as Sima on the TV sitcom All About Me and also played Amy Franks in the BBC's long-running radio drama The Archers. She began writing songs at 14,^[7] some of which were featured in films and television shows, including Bring It On 4, Sleepover, Just My Luck, and Entourage.^[4] After finishing with The Archers in 2003, Kills began pursuing a music career and attributes her musical breakthrough to winning a Radio 1 MC Battle in Leeds under the name "Candy Rapper" in 2003.^[3] She signed to the UK record company Adventures in Music and released her first single "Don't Play Nice" under the name Verbalicious in February 2005. Kills' told W that her childhood nickname from her mother was "Verbal" because she talked and sang a lot. She adopted the name and variations of it as her stage name at some points during her career.^[8]

While writing music for films,^[9] Kills posted her self-produced and written demo extended play, Wommanequin on music social website MySpace in 2007 that attracted the attention of blogger Perez Hilton in 2008, her song received 2 million plays on the website and Kills reached the top of the unsigned artists chart.^[8] With offers coming in for concerts and festivals, Kills moved to Los Angeles.^[9] In LA, Kills was approached by producers, A&R and labels with contracts.^[9][10] A DJ introduced her to will.i.am after hearing her demo and learning that she did not have a record deal. In January 2008, will.i.am signed her to his record label, will.i.am Music Group. She did not sign right away as she had reservations about the music industry and will.i.am had to go to London a month later to convince her to record with him.^[9] During this time she also co-wrote and appeared on "They Talk Shit About Me" by French recording artist M. Pokora and met underground director Guillaume Doubet, who would go on to direct many of her videos, in Paris.

[edit] 2011—: Perfectionist

Kills explained in an interview that she adopted the stage name Natalia Kills at the behest of her record company, which found "Natalia Cappuccinni" hard to pronounce.^[9] She had taken on her grandmother's family name a few years prior.^[6] She explained in an interview that her stage name is based on the phrase "you killed it," and represents her tendecy to be a perfectionist.^[11] Kills released her debut album Perfectionist in April 2011 in Germany following a top ten placing by the first single, "Mirrors". The album was described as a concept album by Kills, chronicling the fact that perfection is attainable.^[7] It features production by Jeff Bhasker and Fernando Garibay,^[7] who had worked with Lady Gaga.^[12] The album was accompanied by four singles, "Mirrors", "Wonderland", "Free" and "Kill My Boyfriend". The first three singles were minor hits in some European countries but failed to chart in the US or UK. Kills opened for Kelis' European All Hearts Tour, as well as supported Robyn on her Body Talk Tour in November 2010 and early 2011. She also supported Ke$ha on the UK leg of her Get Sleazy Tour. Throughout August and September 2011, Kills supported Katy Perry on her California Dreams Tour for eight dates in Europe^[13] and São Paulo, Brazil. She also opened for the Black Eyed Peas over the summer of 2011 in Europe.^[8][11]

Kills is featured on a Junior Caldera's single, "Lights Out (Go Crazy)", along with Far East Movement. It was released on March 13, 2012.^[14] Kills also features in Tatana's single, "You Can't Get In My Head (If You Can't Get In My Bed)".

On April 4, 2012, the singer took to Twitter to announce she was back in the studio, potentially beginning work on her second studio album.

Influences[link]

Kills called Kate Bush and Alanis Morissette her most important musical influences, highlighting them as emotional artists who wrote honestly about their own experiences.^[15] She has also gone on to cite Gwen Stefani as her hero. She also claims that Depeche Mode, Prince, Vanity 6 and Freddie Mercury inspire her live performances.^[11]

Discography[link]

• Perfectionist (2011)

Filmography[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• Natalia Kills at Allmusic
• Natalia Kills at the Internet Movie Database

Anna Dello Russo
Anna Dello Russo at the Dior Couture Arrivals, in January 2012
Born	(1962-04-16) April 16, 1962 (age 50) Bari, Southern Italy
Ethnicity	Italian
Occupation	Magazine Editor Fashion Journalist
Title	Editor-at-Large, Nippon Vogue
Website
ANNADELLORUSSO.com

Anna Dello Russo is the editor-at-large and creative consultant for Vogue Japan. Dello Russo was born in Bari, and currently resides in Milan.

She is self-described as a "passionate fashionista" and has been described by Helmut Newton as a "fashion maniac". Dello Russo is often featured in popular street style blogs The Sartorialist and Jak & Jil. She has gone on record to state that she owns over 4,000 pairs of shoes.

To celebrate their 10 year anniversary, the clothing website yoox.com printed 10 different shirts for sale, each with one of Dello Russo's top ten outfits. The shirts went on to sell out within the first day they were made available. ^[1]

In November 2010 she made a new fragrance named Beyond, with the bottle in the form of a shoe.

Early life[link]

Dello Russo was born in 1962 in Bari, a city in the south of Italy. She has a bachelors degree in Italian Literature and Art History taken at the University of Bari and attended the Domus Academy in Milan. ^[2]

Career[link]

Before assuming her current position of Fashion Director and Editor-at-large at Vogue Nippon, Dello Russo spent 18 years at Condé Nast Italia, as fashion editor at Vogue Italia and as editor of L'Uomo Vogue from 2000-2006. ^[3]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Anna Dello Russo

• New York Magazine interview with Anna Dello Russo
• Style.com A Day In The Life Of: Anna Dello Russo, Fashion Director At Large, Vogue Nippon